Strengthen Your Marriage by Being Active in Your Community
Serving with your spouse whether in a ministry at your local church or within your community is an active and engaging way to strengthen your marriage. This blog post dives into the benefits of doing life together to serve others and spells out ideas to get you started.
What are the benefits of serving with your spouse?
It is easy to focus on the issues and problems surrounding your own family. But when you serve together in some way, you develop a new focus as it shifts from the that thing right in front of you to the action you are taking together. Somehow your own problems diminish in importance as you give of your time and help someone else. This can also reduce the stress you feel as those positive feelings begin to take over because of the good you are doing. When stress is reduced you are in a better mental state. You may experience feelings of satisfaction, joy and happiness that can overflow into your own marriage relationship.
Quality time together happens when you work alongside your spouse. You develop a closer connection as you communicate about and discuss the work you are doing. This begins with the preparation, extends during the process, and ends with a debriefing type of talk of what you accomplished. You have the opportunity to practice better listening skills. You may need to devise plans together. Together you may be required to problem solve any issues. This draws you closer together as a team and has the power to strengthen your marriage.
Where Do We Start?
You can start at your local church. The children’s ministry has needs for teachers, assistants, nursery workers, etc. Perhaps you can be part of the welcome team and hold the doors and welcomes people into the building. Ushers may help people in getting seated or pass the offering containers. Perhaps you have a passion to lead a Bible study and can do this together. The goal is to choose a ministry at the church and volunteer together as a couple.
There are so many ways to volunteer in your local community. Grab a pair of gloves and a trash bag and organize a neighborhood clean up. Offer to assist an elderly neighbor with repairs and/or yard work. Host a lovingly used book drive, clothing collection, or food drive through social media or within your neighborhood. Items can be donated to local shelters, schools, or inner city locations. Perhaps, together, you can volunteer at a food pantry, library, or animal shelter. Be creative with the service you choose to do together.
We encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. Talk about your interests and abilities. Choose a way to serve and engage with each other and in your community. If you have children you can use this as a teachable moment as they see you prioritizing others and your own relationship. See if by doing something outside of yourselves helps strengthen some of the foundational skills needed for a deeper connection together.
Start Talking With Your Spouse Today
If you want to increase communication on this or any other issue, don’t forget to pick up our free 10 Practical Communication Strategies guide. The guide includes a quiz to assess your communication, ten strategies, and within each strategy some writing prompts that will help you each discuss how this strategy can increase your satisfaction with communication.
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