How to Stay Happily Married for 40 Years

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Insights on Marriage from 4 Decades of Experience

The day we’re releasing this blog, August 4, 2019, is Carolyn’s and my 40th wedding

anniversary. Of course, it’s hard to believe that many years have gone by. Over 40 years,

we’ve had quite a ride: we’ve welcomed 3 sons into the world, seen our parents grow

older and go to be with Jesus, experienced all kinds of ups & downs, started churches,

founded Discipleship Journeys with Jesus and walked side by side through it all.

Back in 2013 when we celebrated 34 years of marriage, I wrote about “How to Stay

Happily Married for 34 Years.” I stand by all I wrote then and am sharing it again below.

Here are five keys to a happy marriage from our experience:

One: Never Use the “D” word or the “S” Word.

Like every married couple, Carolyn and I have lived through some major

difficulties, both in our marriage and in other areas of life (jobs, leading churches, health, raising children, etc.). But as hard as things got, we have always kept our commitment to never consider or threaten each other with the “D” word: divorce, or even the “S” word: separate.

I recognize that in some marriages these are inescapable. But if more couples

were determined to avoid these two words and not even consider them, there

would be fewer divorces and separations. Our commitment has always been to

work things out, rather than even consider a bailout.

Two: Laugh at Your Differences

This might sound impossible, but give it a try, it’s fun.

Carolyn and I are different in many ways. We have differences in thermostats,

cleanliness, tastes, recreational preferences, expressions of love, etc.

When we see things differently, we have choices to make: Will we be obstinate in

preferring our own way? Will we become irritated at what we think is our

spouse’s “irrational” thinking? Will we argue about which way is best?

As much as possible, we try to laugh at our differences.

When Carolyn says it’s cold, I laughingly agree and say “yep, it’s freezing” as I

wipe sweat from my forehead. We laugh together and move on.

When I share that it would be fun to go to a museum, we chuckle about how I can

spend endless hours in a museum reading all the exhibits and Carolyn can breeze

through in a brisk walk.

When Carolyn says we need to go shopping and I need to go with her, we laugh

about finding a chair in the clothing section where I can sit, work on my iPhone or

even take a nap.

After we smile at our differences, we quickly negotiate a win/win compromise

and move on.

Three: Avoid Marriage Busters

What are marriage busters? They are behaviors that might be legal but tend to

break marriages.

Here are some examples: flirting, pornography, overspending, Facebook

friendships with old flames, lunches alone with coworkers of the opposite sex,

sharing intimately with friends of the opposite sex.

Call us legalistic if you will. We prefer to think of ourselves as careful with one of

our most precious possessions: our marriage.

Four: Refuse Anger, Sarcasm, Biting Words and Hurtful Jokes

Many use angry, sarcastic biting words with their spouse that they would never

use with a stranger. Their spouse becomes the butt of their jokes.

How bizarre that we treat those we love worse than a perfect stranger.

While I stated this key negatively, our goal should really be just the opposite. I

once heard of a husband whose goal was to give his spouse a different affirmation

every day of their marriage.`

Five: Have Fun Together

Perhaps you immediately think, “But we can’t afford to do fun things.” But I’m

not necessarily talking about expensive hobbies or fancy meals out. If you love

each other, fun can be inexpensive or even free:

• We love to take walks together in the evening after work.

• We enjoy cleaning the house together.

• We have fun going to the warehouse store together.

CONCLUSION:

That’s what I wrote six years ago, and I still believe these are important keys. If you want

some more keys, I wrote an additional post on “Five More Keys to Say Happily Married

for 34 Years.”

If you have questions, please let me know through the Contact page on this website.

Help Spread The Word!

If you found this article helpful, we’d love for you to share it with others on social media

or otherwise. This will help get the Word in front of more people who need biblical

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Additional resources about related subjects on this site:

• What keeps the Sinful Me in Check?

• Is Living Together A Good Idea Before Marriage?

• Podcast: Why did God invent marriage?

• 5 Ways To Porn-proof your Mind and Marriage

• Why Did God Create Marriage?

• The Toilet Bowl is Swirling - Keep the Lid Closed!

• Podcast: How can I overcome pornography?

• Can a Christian Support Gay Marriage?

• Seven Guidelines for Discussing Gay Marriage

• What Scripture Says About Homosexuality: Uncut, Uncensored and Unedited

• Should I Attend My Friend's Same Sex Wedding?

• 3 Steps to Overcoming Betrayal and Building Trust Again.

• Jesus Wants More Fans

• Have You Made A Contract With God?

• 3 Acceptable Sins You Can Enjoy Today ... NOT!

• Podcast: Will someone lose their salvation if they commit terrible sins?

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