All work and no play is definitely not good for the soul… but what does this mean for a marriage? It’s funny, we spend so much time focusing on all the essential strategies to improve our marriages… things like enhanced communication, conflict resolution, and even learning each other’s love languages. And don’t get me wrong, each of these is incredibly valuable and important to the growth and success of our marriages. We schedule our days around work, school, kids’ activities, exercise, meals and so much else
that we stretch ourselves to be able to dedicate time to the development and maturity of our relationships. It’s in all this planning, however, that we forget sometimes to simply carve out time to have fun together, to play together.
The definition of play is activity engaged in for enjoyment and recreation. Sounds so simple, doesn’t it? And yet, ask yourself the question… when was the last time you and your spouse “played” together? I mean actually stopped the busyness long enough to enjoy time together in a completely necessary
activity. After all, we spent all our time together in the beginning, dating, having fun, and getting to know one another, right? Plato said, “You can learn more about a child in one hour of play than you can in one year of conversation.” So, what can you learn about your spouse? More importantly, how does fostering the ability to play together, create a more relaxed, safe, and loving environment between you and your significant other?
Our world has become so fast paced. Our days are full of so many things and we have become a society that gives accolades for our impossible schedules. We have allowed our worth to be tied to our productivity and unfortunately, that can become present in our married lives as well. We begin to measure our spouse by what they do around the house, how much money they earn, or any number of the tasks we have to complete in our lives. We forget to simply stop, experience, and just enjoy spending time together. After all, our spouse, is perhaps one the greatest gifts we have received from God.
“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. So, I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.” — Ecclesiastes 3:11-13.
What if we took God’s cue to rest, to breathe, and solely to find true recreation with His greatest gift to us. Marriage is hard work, and God has great plans for all of our marriages. Our relationships are awesome glimpses of Heaven on this earth, but instead of pushing through all the moments, perhaps we would know more of God if we stopped to just relish in time together, to appreciate the fruit of our labor, and the gift of our best friend in marriage.
Marriage and our spouses are a beautiful gift from Our Heavenly Father. Marriage is work, it’s hard, and the constant challenges in our world to fill the space with to do’s makes it that much more difficult. But like all the other good gifts God has given us, marriage is meant to be enjoyed. God wants us to engage in activities together, to appreciate each other, and to play together. What an amazing Father that He loves us enough to want us to know and experience joy on this earth. “It is not how much we have, but
how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.” Charles Spurgeon. The promise of eternity is a gift beyond words, one we don’t deserve, and we can’t understand. But in this life, God has given us the treasure of marriage, and a glimpse of life and relationship with Him. Let’s remember to pause, to be grateful for, and to just spend more time playing with one another.