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“If marriage is good, then why doesn’t mine feel that way?”

What should we do when our marriages don’t feel like a delight? When they don’t feel like they’ll ever be a good thing?

When our marriages are difficult, we feel the weight of the Fall. And we can forget God’s original design.

Even though there is sin and conflict in the world now, God still created and intends now for marriage to be a good thing for us and His kingdom. A life-giving thing.

The Grand Narrative, God’s big story of redemption, encourages us to take a 10,000-foot view of our marriage story and to look at God’s design. We are created to be image-bearers, and HE calls us very good. He created marriage between two image-bearers as a good thing.

In marriage, we can strive for what could be. We can delight in the good we see in our spouse and encourage them to grow towards God’s design when they are facing sin, temptation or destructive habits that aren’t helping them flourish.

God’s design for marriage doesn’t excuse sin. But it helps us reframe our view of our spouse to see God’s good design.

Resources:

The Gottman Method

Season 13 of Conversational Counseling on “Marriage.”

To sign up for free visuals and discussion questions for this season, click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Our theme music is by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠As Isaac⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This podcast is made possible by engineer and producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shane Selby⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, executive producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Meleah Smith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠generous donors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Conversational Counseling⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alex Kocher⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Brenda Payne.