You can't Amazon Prime a healthy relationship

A lot of things in everyday our life are available to us quickly and cheaply. Some examples of these things are Amazon Prime, Netflix, and fast food. I can sit on my couch start an episode of criminal minds, order food through door dash, order groceries on my Walmart pickup app, and buy a random gadget off of Amazon that I saw on my "for you page" on Tik Tok all within a matter of MINUTES! I’m sure I could go on and list many more, but the truth is, this is not what will bring us lasting joy and companionship.

In the book Drawing Heaven into your Marriage H. Wallace Goddard says “Most of us want the prize without paying the price. We want to have a close, loving marriage, but we're not willing to give up our pet affections. But God has required us to make sacrifices if we are to enjoy that which is most valuable.”

Unlike Amazon and Netflix, Marriage requires a lot of sacrifice. In order to have joy and harmony in your marriage we need to follow the council that Goddard gives and make sacrifices for our significant others. Glenn is always going out of his way to make sacrifices in order for us to have a happy AND joyful marriage. He has so many amazing qualities, like listening, caring, but sacrifice is one of his best. I am constantly trying to follow his example and be more self-less.

What do I mean by sacrifices? I don't mean live in a way that you are miserable and resent your spouse, rather do small things each day to make your relationship more meaningful. Evenings at the Zepeda house tend to consist of Glenn and I sitting on the couch, with phone's in our hands, and with a show on the TV. This is not necessarily a bad thing however, it was becoming the only thing we did with our spare time.

Now that we have two tiny humans in our home we are trying to make our limited time alone together more meaningful. We both decided to make a tiny sacrifice to spend more quality time together, so after the kids are in bed we grab the baby monitor, put on multiple layers (because it's freezing right now in Georgia) and walk laps in our backyard. I know it sounds so strange, but it actually has been so fun having undistracted time with each other. We are able to talk about whatever we want.

Sacrifices in marriage will look different for each couple. Do what works best for you and your spouse.

How has making sacrifices helped you grow closer to your spouse?