Marriage Counseling

This weekend I celebrate six years married to my Mister. Yes, I could drone on and on (droning to you, gushing to me) about what a catch I snagged . . . about how he still pursues my heart . . . about how he leads with stability and strength . . . about how these are the most wonderful years . . . about how I love/adore/respect him. But I won't. (Teehee. Sneaky, right?)

In truth, the many, many reasons I cherish him are summed up in this: We attended marriage counseling this year. 

(Now before you call the church prayer chain or stage an exorcism, hear the rest of the story.)

Before we married, we went through premarital counseling. Our counselor at the time mentioned the benefit of counseling throughout your marriage. And then a few months into marriage, we sought out a mentor couple to keep us accountable, pray with/for us, and to be friends we could confide in and rely on regarding our marriage. Our marriage mentors suggested attending marriage counseling every five years as a "check-up" or sorts. And then again when I joined a moms' group, I learned several other ladies had utilized marriage counseling for non-crisis "maintenance." So, we committed to one another to attend counseling--at the very least--every five years.

Friends, what a blessing it was . . . it is! We only went four sessions, but benefited greatly from learning how to get out of "ruts" and how to analyze our heart/mind before speaking. It was also encouraging to receive cheerleading from an expert and applaud us for doing something right--ha! Sometimes just a fresh set of eyes helps see elements of your relationship you've never ascertained.

My whole point in writing this post isn't too brag about how we've "got it all together" or to promote how fantastic we are. My point is to hopefully let you know that counseling, of any variety, is not the taboo, hush hush horror so many perceive. Attending counseling is not a sign of failure or weakness but a sign of commitment and loyalty and strength.

Nothing speaks love to me more than seeing my sweetheart passionate about maintaining, preserving, and nurturing our relationship. Marriage counseling? It's the most romantic gesture yet.

Happy anniversary, love.