How would you describe your marriage relationship?  Perhaps it wouldn’t be appropriate to answer that out loud. Maybe you’d jump right on it with excitement. If your response, however, is anything less than growing and growing together, keep reading. Your marriage may need a playlist and for sure, a game plan.

The thought of a playlist came to me a couple of years ago when I finally discovered that my i-phone had an app that allowed me to pick my favorite songs and put them together in groups called playlists. I was a Pandora radio player before that.  My marriage was in another rut.  After 20 plus years, there’d been plenty of ditches along the way, and I was wanting to do my part to get us back on the road. 

And then a simple, yet profound, idea came to my mind:  He likes country music radio—I could make a playlist of songs on my phone that would allow me to enjoy some of the music that he enjoys.  Oldies by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill brought back memories of our younger days, memories that stirred of the innocent love that began our journey.  New hits by Luke Combs and others prompted my attention to the even stronger love that we have today.  Of course, the Dixie Chicks got me singing like the honky-tonk girl I was at seventeen–right there in my minivan, but that’s another story!  I can love you better than that, baby, and you’d better believe it!

Sure–a playlist may not solve all our marital problems, but in some small way it draws me closer to my husband. And it gives us something to have in common, something that we can share together on the many drives down the highway and in this long-haul trip we call life.

The point of the playlist? Invest a little something in my marriage and reap the blessings.  And it has done just that!  If a playlist can accomplish this, imagine what a game plan might do . . .

What about a game plan? 

The game plan, of course, is the strategy by which we view, approach and execute our marriage life.  It’s got both long-term goals and short-term tactics, like a coach’s vision for a season as well as his specific methods for upcoming matches.  A game plan for our marriage includes everything from what we believe about our union, to our roles and functions, to our everyday living it out.

We’ve known it to be essential to our growth process to continually revisit our game plan.  We started out our marriage plan-less, and consequently, without direction.  God changed that a handful of years later, but like many couples, we had left Him at the doors of the sanctuary when we headed off to the honeymoon.  Who needed religion that would have absolutely no impact on our relationship as husband and wife whatsoever?

Well, come to find out, religion didn’t make a difference after all.  But, relationship with Christ did.  And as we begin to truly seek Him in His Word, we found so many truths about our marriage—principles that became the detailed plan for victory for our home and family.  We are continually humbled to see how uniquely God has created the marriage union to reflect the intimate picture of Christ and His Bride, the Church and how we as a couple are to enjoy Him as the centerpiece of our relationship.

The purpose of the game plan?  Ground our marriage in something bigger than ourselves because God’s plans and purposes are for His glory and our good.  The game plan keeps us moving forward, closer to Him and closer to one another.

How would I describe my marriage relationship?  Some days are smooth. Other days are difficult. Some exciting and some not so much. At times, we can coast and be blessed, and at times, we must determine to press on and persevere to the blessings. One thing I can say for sure is that my husband and I are, to the best of our ability, investing in our marriage and revisiting our game plan and, by God’s grace, growing and growing together.

My prayer for you is that you can say the same. 

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. ~ 2 Peter 3:18

For more marriage resources, visit my Flourish Marriage Enrichment page.