Like any relationship once the honeymoon phase is over, we do not tend to see our partner with our rose colored glasses on anymore. Which is fine. It is normal that we and our partners are not perfect as we might have thought.   

 

After marriage it seems very common that as a couple we forget to focus on our relationships in growing closer together.   In order to have a successful marriage we need to have a partnership and work as a team.  You know the saying, there is no “I” in TEAM.  My 16 year old has been playing sports since he was 4 years old. We talk a lot about Teams. In football last year my son’s team was slated to go to state. The team had a lot of talent. It was fun to watch them play. However, everyone (the coaches, parents, the other teams) stared to notice how our team was good but it was all about each individual person. My son was complaining about it. I told him in life you are only as strong as the weakest person in the setting. Needless to say we did not go to state, we barely made it to playoffs. Which was so heart breaking? However, lesson learned is that just like sports, people need to work on communicating in their marriage or relationships. When I was married my husband instead of talking through our problems we had would run to his mom to help him out.  This was very frustrating because we were not able to work on our partnership.  It is important that each person in the relationship feels comfortable with expressing how they feel. I am not perfect at this at all. I have struggled with it my whole life. However, I know it is important to communicate and rely on each other.

“Start them young” is a great saying. Elder Ballard suggest that councils are not only for church but also something that we can use in our homes. I think this is great. Again, I am not perfect at this. For a long time it has just been my son and I. We would talk to one another about issues that we felt we could work on. We did not formally call it family council. It is super important for our children to know how to communicate especially if things aren’t going the right way. When we council we can learn from one another and also lift another’s burdens. .  Elder Ballard said, “Inviting the Spirit of the Lord to be part of your family council brings blessings beyond description.”