My husband and I have been married for 6 ½ years. We have learned many lessons on our journey together and I have no doubt that we have many lessons to be learned. One vital lesson that I encounter everyday is that my attitude greatly affects my marriage.

My attitude, the condition of my heart, leads the way in which I respond to my husband. So if I have a negative attitude, my responses towards my husband will be negative. For example, the other day I woke up from a bad dream about my husband. My dreams seem incredibly real, as do the emotions aroused in them. I allowed my dream to dictate my attitude. I was upset, frustrated, and irritated. This perspective spiraled downward and I didn’t think to stop and pray about it. Instead it affected my morning and my marriage. Thoughts swirled inside my head and I began to dwell on being discontent. My attitude was negative, and during that morning I unfortunately allowed it to take over. When my husband asked me a question, I snapped at him coldly. When my husband tried helping me with our baby, I got angry because he was not doing it how I would. My words were unkind and my mind was focused on me!

This is not the way God desires me to behave. I was feeding a horrible attitude and it was destroying my relationship with my husband. Recognizing that I needed to change, I started with prayer!

“Lord, please change my attitude, change my heart. I am so sorry for letting things get to me. I am sorry for not reflecting your love. I am sorry for how I treated my husband. Help me to be joyful, glad, kind, compassionate, patient, and loving in Jesus name AMEN!”

The next important step is reconciliation with my husband. I apologized for how I treated him. Reconciliation in marriage is an awesome experience, mirroring God’s great love and grace.

With a new attitude and a change of heart I was ready to transform my marriage. Instead of focusing on myself, I sought to focus on my husband and his needs. This is how Christ would have operated! When my attitude reflects Christ, extraordinary things happen. When I operate out of God’s love, my marriage is better.

Be aware of how your attitude affects your marriage. The amazing truth is that with change we can experience transformation! It is worth it to our marriage for us to check and double check our attitude daily!

Do you recognize how your attitude affects your marriage?

- Jennifer Smith unveiledwife.com

photo credit: @unveiledwife