Rob and I used The 10 Best Decisions a Couple Can Make during our pre-marital counseling. Authors Bill and Pam Farrel asked couples to list the best traits of their long-term marriages. Here are a few that were repeated amongst the surveys:
- We make room for each other.
- We maintain our own unique likes and activities.
- We aren’t jealous.
- We stick together.
- We show respect.
- We trust.
- We had a good sense of humor.
- We love God together.
- We want to make our marriage work.
- We spend time together.
- We talk things through.
- We don’t make major decisions without each other.
- We allow for our differences.
- We encourage each other.
- We both seek God daily, love him, and seek his will first.
- We know that we will be faithful to each other until death.
- We share everything with each other as long as it is done in love.
- We consider the interest of the other before our own (this is a fruit of the Holy Spirit).
- We believe that has the other person has my best interest at heart.
- We communicate our love daily to each other.
- We do not concern ourselves with how much the other person is giving or doing for our relationship.
- We look to ourselves to see if we are being the kind of people that God wants us to be and the other person needs us to be.
- We serve God together.
- We forgive.
- We are friends.
- We have confidence in each other.
- We enjoy all levels of intimacy.
- We are honest with each other.
- We practice hospitality together.
- We are best friends.
- We tell each other everything.
- We love being together.