There is something special about married couples getting together and spending time in fellowship. No matter how much single friends can and are a wonderful blessing, you cannot truly relate to a married person until you are one yourself. When couples join together, they come to find that they are not alone in whatever situation they’re in. God knew it was not good for us to be without community, and that goes for friendships within marriage as well.
When two people get married but then cut themselves off from the world, it is actually detrimental to the relationship. When two people are so inward relationship focused, it actually begins to tear them apart. Having married friends that come alongside you in your relationships is a major factor that creates health. There is a healing that comes when you sit with an older and wiser couple who can give you insight and simply tell stories like your own. When you sit with couples who can say “we were there, and God brought us through that season”. What greater blessing is there than to feel understood? We need mentorship and community in our marriages, just as we do in our personal walks with the Lord. What an isolated life to walk through your marriage feeling alone.
But this does not come overnight. It takes vulnerability. But the worth is great.
The times you feel closest to God and to your partner are often when you are in healthy and thriving community. Just as important as having married couples as friends are your separate friendships. Having male and female friends to be a source of encouragement, love, and fellowship apart from your spouse is so important. Our spouse cannot be everything for us and we are wrong to place all the pressure on their shoulders. Personal friendships give us the space we need to grow as our own person. No matter what, community is one of the most important and most overlooked aspects of being in a relationship.
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