Does being married mean that you have to support your spouse’s dreams? Isn’t it time that they grew up and lived in the “real world?”
Yes! You should support your spouse’s dreams. If those dreams are not putting yourself or your family in danger, then you should absolutely support their dreams. With that established we should ask ourselves “Do we know what our spouse’s dreams are?” If not, this is a great date night to have. A Dream Date and not Dinner and a Movie.
40-70% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. The dream that your spouse has may be the idea to get you out of that cycle. It could be the idea that moves you to a place where you are financially secure, fulfilled in your calling and doing something great. Notice that I said fulfilled in your calling and not fulfilled in your job. Pursuing a dream is more than just a job. It’s what God has put you on earth to do that will have an impact on the world. That’s more meaningful than the paycheck you get from your job.
Words That Build
1. So how do we support our spouse’s dreams? Many times, we can either destroy or cultivate our spouse’s dreams. The words that we speak are vitally important. Just by what comes out of our mouths, we can build up our spouse when they are down, tired and may want to quit. Our words can give them the boost they need to keep going, lift their spirit, and keep the vision of the end goal. The opposite is true too. Our words can depress them, stifle their progress, and make it so that they will not want to pursue the dreams or worse not open up to us and share their heart.
Listen & Respond or NOT
2. We support the dream by listening. This might be especially true for men, we don’t have to immediately fix the problem that our spouse is having. This is their dream. We should support them, not take over. Many times, when we are talking to our spouse they will give us indicators of what they are feeling. The key is to really listen and not just wait until it’s our turn to talk. Sometimes they just want to express themselves to us. Support them by listening to them.
Lend a Hand
3. Lend our skills and talents to support them. Many husbands and wives are different in personalities and in skills. This is one of the ways that marriage is great. Spouses complement each other. While your spouse is pursuing their dream, support them by lending your skills to help them. It may mean some sacrifice on our part. Maybe we lose an hour of sleep, or don’t watch the TV show that we wanted but those things fail in comparison to supporting our spouse.
These are a couple of ways that we can support our spouse in their dreams. Supporting those dreams strengthens the marriage, and the relationship between the husband and wife.
Do you know your spouse’s dream? Are you supporting that dream? Let’s start this weekend with Dream Dates. Go out and talk to each other about your dreams, and how you can support them!
