There is an amazing thing that happens in some marriages and when you notice it in your own, you may find yourself at a loss for words. But the truth is, loss for words or not, it’s important to address the situation for what it is. Now that I’ve done all that build up, what am I talking about?
I’m talking about the thoughtfulness that we demonstrate to our friends, coworkers and neighbors that we seem to forget when we walk in our front doors. This can actually be a problem that creeps up in your marriage. It’s not one that happens all at once.
Habitual Thoughtlessness
When we’re married, we’re blessed with a partner that will be there for us – often whether we treat them badly or not. This is not a license to treat your husband, wife or spouse badly, but it does mean we are allowed a certain latitude.
Think about that the next time you wake up in a bad mood and you are grouchy at your husband. Think about that the next time you come home after a bad day and give your wife a hard time. Our spouses are there for us, but when we make thoughtlessness a rule instead of an exception in our marriage – we are creating a negative environment that will impact every aspect of our marriage.
Are you guilty of being thoughtless?
We’re all guilty of thoughtlessness. It happens. While it does happen, it’s just important to acknowledge when it does happen and apologize for it. For example, my husband was telling me a story yesterday and I teased him with a comment – interjecting that this was the part where I usually said I didn’t care about the thing he was telling me about. It was a pretty thoughtless remark – I thought it would be funny – but he didn’t take it that way.
I owed him an apology. Whether I meant to be harmful or not with the thoughtless remark, it was perceived as such and he deserved the apology and mea culpa I delivered afterwards.
Have you had to apologize for a thoughtless remark or act recently?
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