Marriage Mondays ~ Rest & Play Together

I have a "hankerin'" for time away, preferably involving the sound of waves, my feet in the sand, and fresh shrimp for dinner. Maybe that's why I spent last week reflecting on "the Value of Vacation," and we'll wrap up this week with more vacation thoughts. Today let's stay with the theme and consider how important it is to REST & PLAY together.


This is an area Jeff and I really have to work at ;), because we "work" and "serve" so well (and so much) together. It actually takes a decision to shift for rest & play together. We have to plan to have fun and relax as a couple, or it gets lost in the busyness of life. We have to agree not to talk "work" when we're away relaxing (challenging when your work overlaps). We may even agree not to talk about certain family issues; we have to communicate so we know how to help each other. Genesis 3 was a turning point for couples, beginning long days filled with words like "painful toil, sweat of your brow, cursed ground," sent away from paradise and into life as we know it.

Genesis 3:23

So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.

It was also the first clue WE WOULD NEED A VACATION! Couples have been trying to carve out time to rest & play together ever since. Doing it together is totally different than times away just with gals or just with guys. Resting & playing as a couple benefits our marriages in many ways.

• We enjoy the rare freedom of just being quiet together
• We have fun and laugh together
  
• We have time to get past daily details to talk about significant things of life
• We experience new places and activities, bonding us tighter
  
• We have time to reflect on life together, encouraging gratitude, dreaming, and evaluating
• We feel closer physically and have more time to be intimate
• We leave stress behind as we travel and are reminded we're a team wherever we go
• We practice loving each other with tasks like packing the car & reading a map ;)
• We get rest and stress relief we need to do regular life together again
• We make a big "deposit" into each other's lives that lasts a long time
  

Proverbs 5:17-19 tells us a husband to "rejoice in the wife of your youth," saying, "may you ever be captivated by her love." It's not easy to rejoice in the wife of his youth when she's worn out and preoccupied with her tasks.


If a wife is to help her husband be captivated by her love, she needs to rest up and make herself available to rest and play with her man. A husband is more likely to love his wife as himself when he gets some rest and can turn his attention to her. Let's face it ... the "stuff" of life makes it hard to remember how we ENJOY each other and love to spend time together. Our marriages blossom when we make it a priority to Rest & Play Together.


I'm so glad you stopped by Marriage Mondays today. I'll be praying throughout the day for those who read (YOU!), and let's be praying for those who begin married life together during these spring wedding months.


If you write a post about God's perspective on marriage, feel free to join the Mcklinky below, mentioning this host site and linking to Marriage Mondays so readers can find more encouragement.