Redecorate your marriage

When you move into a house, you want to make it a great space to be. You put up pictures and photos, get comfy furniture and maybe plant a garden. Over time, you paint and carry out repairs. You might buy a BBQ and an outdoor setting, and if you’re keen, add an extra room or makeover the kitchen. You clean regularly and spring clean every so often.

In other words, you don’t just move in and do nothing much—you work to make your house a home. It’s a place where you’re going to spend a lot of time, so you want to make it an enjoyable space to live in.

Well, a marriage is a place where some of us spend a lot of time too, yet we don’t always devote so much effort to making it a great space to be. In fact, sometimes we can get stuck in the rut and routine of marriage, leaving it to almost run on autopilot. From time to time we may think of something we’d like to be better, but perhaps we don’t want to rock the boat, or we’re just not sure how to go about improving things.

If that’s the case for you—or for someone you care about—consider signing up for the Alpha Marriage Course. You’ll enjoy eight weeks of one-on-one time with your partner, usually over a candlelit meal.

Each week, you’ll get tips on everything from understanding each other’s needs and how to communicate more effectively, to sexual intimacy and improving relationships with the in-laws. And you won’t share anything about your relationship with anyone other than your partner.

Despite the name, you don’t have to be married to take part. The Marriage Course helps any couple, whether their relationship is strong or struggling. Those whose relationship is going well say attending the course was an investment that made good things even better.

Lots of New Zealand churches—including some Salvation Army congregations—run the Marriage Course (and the Alpha Marriage Preparation Course), so there’s likely to be a course on offer near you.

Your marriage is far too important to leave to happenstance. But with the investment of a little together time, you can make it a great place to live.

By Christina Tyson (from War Cry, 11 February 2012, p3)

For more info, go to  www.alpha.org.nz/findmarriagecourses