“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:” Ecclesiastes 3:1

Embracing the Seasons of Your Marriage

If I could go back to my 27-year-old self and share with her what I know now about embracing the seasons of marriage, I could have saved myself a lot of heartache. Not coming from a Christian home, I truly did not have all the tools I needed to have a successful marriage. All the women around me had skewed views from all their hurts. Getting a front row seat to what it looked like to embrace seasons of marriage seemed nearly impossible to me.

I can look back on 14 years of marriage at all the seasons we went through, and I can tell you without a doubt that through each season came amazing growth. We are not the same people we were when we said “I do.” Some seasons are hard and some are joyous. Embracing each season is the key to to having a better marriage than we did before.

We need to learn to embrace the seasons of our marriages. If we don’t, our marriages will never become all God wants for us separately and together.

I have had to learn this all to well being a military wife for 12 years of my marriage.

Things happen quickly and without warning. Embracing the different seasons was not always easy for me. The closer I have gotten to Christ, the easier it has been to embrace the seasons. Life is full of unexpected changes; our only choice is how well we respond.

Responding well was always my weakness.

It was our first deployment and we had no idea what to expect. We had never been apart for more then 8 hours and that was because he was at work. He would be gone for 12 months and life as we knew it would change forever. This was the hardest season of our marriage to date and I will be honest, I did not think we were gonna make it. We put too much pressure on each other because of our fears. We did not speak to each other in love. We focused too much on one another and not the One who could mend it all.

We did not respond well to this season of our marriage.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

Looking back I can see how those moments prepared us for today. My husband is retired from the military and works as a contractor. He travels sometimes and has to work long hours. When those times hit I am more ready than I was then, even though they are still hard. We have learned to respond well, which not only draws us closer to Christ but to one another.

When a season comes that challenges you in every way, cling to Jesus.

Find ways to help each other during this time. Focus on drawing closer to Christ so that the enemy doesn’t cling to that season. Find little moments to embrace and be intentional. Don’t make it about you. Communicate often, speaking in love. Make each other feel loved no matter what challenges arise. Be understanding.

The enemy wants nothing more then to kill, steal, and destroy your marriage during the hard seasons.

I recommend the book Starting Your Marriage Right: What You Need to Know in the Early Years to Make It Last a Lifetime, written by Dennis and Barbara Rainey.

Your turn to chime in.

What are some things you do in your marriage to embrace the seasons?

Read more from the series here…

Sonya is a helpmate to her military husband of 14 years, now retired. She is the mother of 3 sons 24, 17 & 11. Her oldest son was a prodigal son for 4 long years who came home in July of 2012. For over half of her marriage she was a military wife. The Lord found her after going through 2 deployments a complete mess. Her marriage hanging on by a thread, the Lord breathed life into her and her marriage. Her life has never been the same since. She blogs over at Becoming a Strong Woman of God and is passionate about encouraging women in their seasons of marriage, motherhood and homeschooling. She home schools her youngest son while her middle son attends his senior year at a private Christian school. Sonya has as a big heart for women and helping them grow deeper with Christ in the midst of their hurt. She will be focusing on drawing closer to Christ during difficult times such as marriage, motherhood, & homeschooling. She is a overcomer herself in all three areas, and looks forward to helping you become an overcome yourself.