Water Your Grass

The Grass is Greener on the Side of the Fence You Water

Let’s be real for a minute. Strong marriages take a lot of diligent effort and commitment. I don’t believe in the saying, “we fell in love,” any more than I believe that people simply “fall out of love.” In my mind, love is a verb…it is something we do. Life is full of peaks and valleys. Trials and setbacks of all kinds will challenge each of us, and our marriages and families. So, how do we stay faithfully and happily committed and connected through the ups and downs, or even through the monotony of married life?

Water your grass!

This statement from President Kimball explains further this thought:

“The Lord says in no uncertain terms: ‘Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else’ (D&C 42:22).

And, when the Lord says all thy heart, it allows for no sharing nor dividing nor depriving. And, to the woman it is paraphrased: ‘Thou shalt love thy husband with all thy heart and shalt cleave unto him and none else.’

The words none else eliminate everyone and everything. The spouse then becomes preeminent in the life of the husband or wife, and neither social life nor occupational life nor political life nor any other interest nor person nor thing shall ever take precedence over the companion spouse. (Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle (1972), 142–43.)

So, to water our marital grass, we have to carefully tend to our spouse. I’ve found that the small things go a long way in drawing closer to my spouse. Things like:

·       Initiating sex

·       Making his favorite dinner

·       Asking about his work

·       Spending time doing his favorite activities

·       Buying his favorite toothpaste/shampoo

I feel like anytime I can show that I know my spouse and that I care about his desires, he draws closer to me, and vice versa.