Tis the season to get married and this summer is no different. This summer several “kids” that I had in youth group have or are getting married so I began to think, “What advice would you give a newlywed?”
It’s an interesting place for me to be with these “kids” since I used to give them all sorts of advice on sex and marriage as their married youth pastor but now I am the divorced painter.
I wouldn’t say that my advice has drastically changed rather I have rethought some of things I used to say.
Happy wife, happy life. Wrong. Marriage and family is not just about one person being happy. And what kind of light does that paint your wife in? Are you saying by default she is rude and unhappy so everyone better work at pleasing her?
Instead of “happy wife, happy life chose to Try to out serve the other person.
She is always right. What kind of marriage is that where whatever the wife says goes? This gets frustrating for the woman because she wants to have a dialogue, not a yes man.
Mark Manson often shares that he and his wife agreed to always tell each other the truth. Always not sometimes. If she asks if the dress makes her look fat he tells her the truth. They agreed they would rather hear the truth, as painful as it may be, from the one who is supposed to love them unconditionally instead of a stranger.
So “What advice would you give a newlywed?”