After marriage, many relationships begin to stumble and fall. This doesn't seem like the way it should go. Marriage is supposed to be a great and glorious thing, and much of the time it's exactly that, but the period after marriage can also be a dangerous one for many people.
The problem is that before marriage, the relationship was always building towards something. In the early days, you looked forward to the next date. Then you were looking forward to all the little events that make up the beginnings of a relationship. Meeting the parents, meeting the friends, all those little first that make up a life.
After all that, you start looking forward to the big events. You move in together, and that's a big thing. Then you start looking forward to the wedding, to the rest of your life. Then you get married. After marriage, things change.
After marriage, you start to wonder if this is all there. Most of the little events that you look forward to have happened and all you're left with is the rest of your life. While finding the right someone to spend your life with is one of the best parts of life, you have to worry about what comes after.
This is a period that can leave you or your new spouse failing, looking for something to give your life direction. This can lead to people doing stupid things as the new wedding glow wears off, cheating or starting fights.
Because of this, the after marriage period is not a time when you should sit by and just hope that everything will work out for the best. A marriage might last a lifetime for the lucky, but it won't get there without the two of you being in synch and working towards building something that last.
What you need to weather the after marriage doldrums is communication. You and your spouse need to make sure that the relationship is growing the way you want it to and that you both have the same expectations.
We often don't tell our spouses about the fears and uncertainty we have because we're afraid that it will hurt them or just afraid that if we say it, it will really be true. But you need to tell them and talk about things because if you don't, the problems will grow and fester.
Instead of allowing that to happen, get into the habit of total honesty as early as you can. The earlier you start, the easier it's going to be when and if problems do arrive. This means you both need to be able to work with hurt feelings, to get around and over them to get to the good times.
After marriage, you have the rest of your life. You owe it to yourself and your spouse to try as hard as you can to make it a life worth living. You may need more help than this article can give you, and that's fine. There are plenty of resources available to help you build a better, stronger marriage.
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