Most couples come into marriage with expectations. When the party is over and every day life starts we can be shocked to realize that the other part was not as perfect as we expected he or she would be. We discover new things that we had never seen, when we were dating. We have to be willing to adjust our expectations of the other person. Irritating habits, unexpected behaviors, different ways of doing things.
A big lesson in marriage is to accept our husband or wife as they are, rather than trying to make them into the person we had hoped they would be.
When we accept another person as they are, we communicate to them that they are important and loved as they are, even if they are not perfect.
This mutual acceptance will free the other person to be who he or she is. Our home needs to be a place where we feel free to be who we are, and still feel loved and accepted by our spouse. The attitude of acceptance will make the other person want to change, because they feel loved and respected, even though they make mistakes or do things, the other person doesn’t really like.
By accepting our spouse we make them feel that they are loved, even if they are not perfect.
The opposite of accepting is rejecting. For example, if a husband has a habit of criticizing his wife and telling her the things she does wrong, she will not feel accepted. She will feel rejected. If a person constantly feels rejected or unaccepted, it will make them want to close his or her heart, because they feel pushed away.
Think about 3 ways you can show accept to your husband or wife.