A few years ago, our family took a week-long vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. While we were there, my husband and I had the opportunity to take part in the adventurous sport of parasailing. If you have ever been parasailing before, you know how freeing it feels, but also how important it is to closely pay attention to your skipper and listen to his cues for when and how you are to land. He is the one watching out for you while you are high up soaring through the air as the boat pulls you along. If you do not listen closely to his cues, you will literally end up in deep water! Listening is an important skill not only for being able to soar when you are parasailing, but for being able to soar and thrive in your marriage. If you lack effective listening skills in marriage you might just find yourself in deep water, too! God gave us two ears and one set of lips for a reason. We need to listen more and talk less. We all have a deep desire to be known. God put that desire in our hearts. We want to be known, understood and loved for who we are. To know our spouse, we need to pay attention to who they are and actually listen to what they say. It sounds simple, but for most people, being a good listener is a skill that needs to be cultivated. My husband and I have both worked diligently at this skill over the years. The busier our lives became, the more we realized the need to be completely present in the moment to ensure that successful communication was taking place and that our love for one another was being manifested through our focused listening to what our spouse was sharing. It has not always been easy to do and we have had our share of failed attempts, but when we take the time to listen closely and process what our spouse is sharing, our marriage indeed thrives! There is so much chatter around us and many of us have mastered the art of tuning out what we consider chatter in our lives. Our spouse should never fall into this category! When you tune your spouse out, you not only hurt them, but you hurt yourself and you damage your marriage. Here are five tips for improving marital listening skills:
If you want to truly love your spouse, then learn to listen and listen well. Enter the heart of your spouse and watch your love grow. Save Save Save Save Save |