Did you know that before it snows, certain fir trees retract their branches so that the weight of the snow they’ll have to bear will be reduced? This withdrawal response is programmed into their branches. God has enabled these trees to anticipate the problem before it occurs, thereby reducing the risk that they will break in a storm. And you need to do the same thing in your marriage. You can’t avoid problems and crises, but you can prepare for their arrival. Most of the stress points in our families are common, and therefore predictable. Christian psychologist Doctor James Dobson writes: ‘One of my good friends spent a considerable amount of time with his wife, preparing for the moment when their grown kids would move out of the house. They talked often about the empty nest, and discussed ways their friends had coped with it. They read books about that phase of life, and applied what they had heard to themselves. As a result, their transition to the empty nest was smooth. Into every marriage, a little snow will fall. Blizzards will blow, and storms will howl. But an effort to anticipate these times will help you and your mate stand up under the weight of the winter storm.’ Here are three ways in which you can be ready: 1) Sharing goals beyond parenting to which you’re both committed. 2) Sharing feelings and needs, and having them validated. 3) Sharing in prayer together each day. Did you know that 90 per cent of all Christian couples don’t pray together? Be sure and make it your goal to be part of the 10 per cent who do.