Blog post 8 (June 15-20) Managing Conflict

The biggest thought I had this week was about forgiveness in marriage. It is easy to say that we will be forgiving and loving when we commit to marriage, but once it gets hard do we stick with it?

I feel like when we can truly learn to forgive our spouses we are able to show true love. Sometimes this means that we have to set aside our pride, which can be hard. We are all going to make mistakes, but it is important to remember that both of us will be making those mistakes. I am not perfect, and neither is my husband, but because we both recognize that we can overcome anything.
Just this week it seemed that we were going to have a perfect week. We didn't have any arguments, we weren't so very bothered by any little irritations, until Saturday. For some reason we got into an argument, and it seemed like there was no hope to overcome the stresses. While my husband went on a walk, I rehearsed over and over all the things I was feeling, but instead, because we had time to think, we were able to forgive. Instead of rehashing the problems when he got home, we just let them fade. It may seems backwards, because we didn't actually "solve" the problem, instead we forgave each other.

Some things seem impossible to forgive, but nothing is important enough to hold on to. I know that there are even some things that can ruin marriage, but we can’t let it destroy us. Forgiveness is not something we have to have both parties for. We should be constantly forgiving others, as well as ourselves. Forgiveness is a healing balm. And in marriage, it is the best medicine.

I think the most important thing is to have a good relationship with your spouse. I know that my husband is my best friend, and so if we have issues, we can communicate them. I know that I can talk to him and tell him how I feel, and he can tell me how he feels. Even if we get upset we can work through the hard times, and learn to forgive each other. Forgiveness, true forgiveness, is not easy, but it so worth it.