Dates got you to a place where you wanted to marry each other if you want to stay married then keep dating your spouse – Andy Traub
Do you remember the first date that you and your spouse went on? What about the first time you met? Okay, that might be stretching your memory a little bit. Have you heard the term dating in marriage? Maybe not, but there is a concept here that we need to take more seriously. Our marriages are valuable and we don’t take care of them in the same manner that we take care of other things that we value.
I was recently with a group of other couples, It was our church’s marriage ministry, Rings and Things, and we all went around and tried to answer the questions that were asked at the beginning. One of the questions was where was your first date with your spouse? I did pretty good and was able to recall our first date. Having everyone trying to remember provided good laughs and an enjoyable evening. This question rolled in my mind and had me thinking of why we should continue to date in marriage.
Why should you continue to date throughout your marriage? There are many reasons why you should.
- Communication.
It should be obvious that communication is the key to marriage. While we know that it’s clear, sometimes we forget or negate it. We all know what bad communication is, and how it makes us feel. What dating does is put you in situations where communication is safe and fun. We need to have more of those opportunities in our marriage.
- Novelty.
Date nights are great for helping us to create new experiences in our relationships. It’s easy to fall into the mundane ruts of life. These experiences help to create fun memories that you will cherish later on.
- Spark.
The spark and novelty of date nights contribute to the romantic love aspect of relationships and can make you feel like you’ve just started dating each other all over again. Who doesn’t want to feel those butterflies you felt when you first started dating? Planning consistent dates with your husband or wife will help you fall in love with each other all over again week after week.
- Commitment.
By opening up to each other on dates, spouses build strong bonds that solidify their commitment to each other. This is important for the inevitable hard times that hit us all. When either of you are at your low point, will you have each other to pull you back up? How strong is your emotional bond with each other? If it needs some improvement, then odds are you aren’t dating each other enough.
Life and the business of life often get in the way of planning intentional dates with your spouse. When this happens dinner and a movie is usually the default date. Not that dinner and a movie is bad but it can get stale if this is the only thing that we do as a couple. Date nights allow us to break up the repetitive structure.
Discussion Question:
Why do you enjoy date nights?
