The most important relationship we have outside of our relationship with God, is our relationship with our spouse. But if we’re not careful the stress of ministry can put a strain on the marriage.

I am by no means a marriage expert, but I’d love to share with you 6 keys I’ve learned to navigate the stress, and see your marriage be blessed.

1. Every marriage has seasons. Sometimes everything is going great. Other times it seems like nothing is going right. We are to love our spouses no matter what kind of season our marriage is in. The key is never giving up.

2. Kids greatly increase the difficulty level of marriage. I absolutely adore my two girls, but I wasn’t ready for the added stress, time commitment, lack of sleep, etc. that comes along with having children. This in turn adds stress to a marriage.

3. Being able to honestly communicate without getting angry or feelings hurt is a big key to success.  Don’t let something bother you to the point that you’re boiling over before you address it. Addressing issues early on will save you a lot of headaches.

4. Make date nights a priority. My wife and I try to go out by ourselves at least once or twice a month. This gives us time away from kids, work, etc, where we can focus on each other and remember why it was we fell in love in the first place.

5. At least once a year, take a vacation without the kids. We started this last year after hearing several pastors recommend this, and we plan on getting away every year from now on. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive, it just needs to be a change of scenery.

6. Do life together. After marriage and kids many couples never do anything together, which leads to them growing apart. So, you need to be intentional about doing something together. It can be a small group, it can be a serving area, it can be a hobby, just find something you both enjoy and do it together.

Those are a few things I’ve learned, but there’s people a lot smarter than me out there so I’d love to share a couple posts/websites for you to check out.

Perry Noble had this post on Six Things You Can Do To Improve Your Marriage. The post also includes links to books and other articles that are very helpful.

I also had the opportunity to meet Justin Davis recently, and he and his wife Trisha started refineus.org which is dedicated to creating healthy marriages. Look for an interview with these two coming soon.

What would one of your keys to building a better marriage be? Share in the comments section.