But Do You Like Each Other?
One thing Leah and I have been talking about a lot the last few months is a trip we took back in the summer, and a realization we made on that trip. For our 25th anniversary, we took a few days and traveled together. It was a great time. We saw a lot of sites and ate some wonderful food. We also just enjoyed downtime.
As the trip wore on, though, one thing we both said was that the trip reminded us that we like each other.
Notice that sentence didn’t say that we “love” each other. We already knew that. That’s non-negotiable!
But I’m concerned that a lot of couples diminish in their “like” as much–or maybe more–as they do out of “love.”
In the day-in-day-out of life, couples sometimes forget to grow in their friendship. Let’s be honest: when you live with someone every day, there are things that will happen that annoy you. There will be a lot of boring things (bills, doctor’s appointments, etc.) that suck up so much time. There is the stress of raising children and holding down jobs and dealing with finances. And all those sorts of things can cause a couple to drift, more in their “like” than just in their love.
On our trip, we figured out (or, maybe I should say “refigured” out) that we just really like being around one another. We were reminded of some shows we enjoy watching. We remembered that, when the stress is lower, each other is pretty fun to be around!
It is easy for a couple to say that they love each other after many years of marriage. Certainly, that needs to be worked on also. But are you working on your “like”?
If you do, the love will be even deeper and you’ll be reminded of just how blessed you are to be married to your best earthly friend.
AUTHOR: Adam Faughn
