My husband and I were married in August, and this year was our 14th wedding anniversary.
We forgot all about it.
Both of us.
For several days.
It wasn’t until 5 days after our anniversary had passed that, as I checked the calendar for something else, I realized that we had totally forgotten it. (Again!)
It’s so easy to get caught up in everything else – homeschooling, kids’ activities, housework, church and volunteer obligations – that I forget about the foundation of it all: my marriage. It’s the most important (earthly) relationship in my life, but I tend to put it last. I take it for granted that my husband knows how much I love and appreciate him. But how exactly would he know that? What do I do to show him how important he is to me and to our family? I remembered Father’s Day…does that count?
We both laughed about how we can’t seem to remember one of the best days of our lives. But taking each other for granted is a slippery slope. Little things, like forgetting a special day, can snowball. Taking a few minutes here and there to remind your husband of how much he means to you can be the difference between celebrating your next anniversary together…and not.
Why Do I Need to Make Him Feel Special?
I hope this post inspires you to take a fresh look at your relationship with your husband and ask yourself what you can do to show him how important he is to you. BUT, it can be tough to make that a priority, especially when you feel bored, resentful, or angry about the state of your marriage. It’s much easier to sit back and think about all of the nice things he should be doing for you, or all the reasons why he doesn’t deserve any special treatment. (I’ve spent my fair share of time doing both.) If your marriage hasn’t been great lately, planning how to make your husband feel good probably isn’t at the top of your to-do list.
However, it might be the only way your relationship is ever going to improve.
When things start to go wrong in a marriage, you realize that you don’t have much control over your husband or his behavior. You can’t make him talk about it. You can’t force him to change. The only thing you can do that might actually make a difference is to change your own behavior, then pray that he responds.
The crazy thing about treating your husband better is that it actually helps him become a better husband. As you start to use a few of these tips, take note of your husband’s behavior. When you remember to thank him for helping with something around the house, does he start to do it more often? When you’re more affectionate toward him, is he more affectionate toward you? As you begin to show him how much you love and respect him, he’ll probably work harder to be the kind of man who deserves your love and respect.
What Happens When You Focus on the Positive?
Another consequence of acting more loving toward your husband is that you actually start to feel more loving toward your husband. When you tell him how important he is to your family, you start to realize how important he really is to your family. What you say and do has a real impact on how you think and feel.
Start Small
There is NO downside to trying the ideas on this list. Especially if you don’t particularly want to make your husband feel good. If you want to keep a struggling marriage from ending in divorce, you have to be willing to take the first step toward reconciliation. And, if your marriage is great, these ideas will help to keep it that way.
Do something small – tiny, even – to make your husband feel good. Buy the kind of coffee he likes. Clean a pair of his shoes. Get a picture of both of you framed and hang it up. Something tiny can be enough to get both of you focused on what you love about each other, instead of what you don’t.
Ways to Show Your Husband You Love Him With Food
Ways to Show Your Husband You Love Him With Your Mad Homemaking Skills
Ways to Show Your Husband You Love Him with (Free!) Gifts
Ways to Show Your Husband You Love Him Physically
I feel weird going into detail here, but suffice it to say: your husband will appreciate ANYTHING you do to show him love in a physical way. Even if you just sit close to him on the couch.
Other Ways to Show Your Husband You Love Him
How do you let your husband know that you love him? Tell us in the comments!
