#spouse first

I’m leaving … and I’m taking my wife with me.  We need it but our kids don’t understand it, yet. My wife and I are each packing a bag with 3 days worth of clothes and we are leaving. 

We’ve been fixing dinner, doing laundry, and running back and forth to endless practices. We’ve signed planners from school, cheered from the stands, and tucked kids in bed. We are good at being parents, but we are we good at being husband and wife? 

We’ve been told for years by those older and wiser than us about prioritizing our marriage. Its always seemed like a dream that ‘one day’ we’ll get some time together. What happens if we don’t ever turn that ‘one day’ into today? I don’t want to find out.

My kids don’t really understand why we are leaving without them. They keep asking to come with us. They want to go someplace warm too. Its actually pretty wonderful that they love us enough that they want to come along. 

The best thing we can do for our kids, though, is to leave without them occasionally. I have found that if we are great at being husband and wife, then we’ll be even better parents. Its keeps us from idolizing our kids and reminds them they are not the nexus of our universe.

You can’t exclude your kids for the sake of your own hobbies, ministries, or professions. Parenting should take priority over so much in our lives, but not our marriages. No matter how many times I’ve heard that truth, I still easily dismiss it away. 

So husbands, pursue your wife and make a long weekend away a priority. Laugh with each other. Share your heart. Enjoy being friends and lovers again. The best gift you could ever give to your children is a strong and healthy marriage.