The Reset Button - Happy New Year!

Another year passes with a new one waiting to unfold.  We start it with resolutions and hopes of better days ahead.  It’s a chance to start over – hit the reset button.  We want to believe this New Year will be better as we learn from the mistakes of our past.  We tend to go to into the New Year looking forward – not dwelling on the past.  There’s a whole year ahead of us that promises new possibilities.

 

The same should apply to your marriage.  Don’t dwell on the past – make the best of your present so your future will look bright. Use that reset button in your marriage, too. You can use it as needed, not just once a year.

Our tendency is to be the least forgiving and the least forgetful with our own spouses.  We, especially women, remember every careless comment and rude behavior our spouse ever emits.  Like the promises of a new year, we need to push the reset button sometimes and start over in our marriages.  Forgive and forget – learn from your mistakes and your spouses, then let go of them.  Don’t allow those mistakes to hold you hostage.

Let’s face it.  None of us are perfect, and we tend to show the most vile and repulsive sides of our self to our spouses.  Yet, we expect them to act above reproach.  Any little sign of displeasure and many of us want to walk out the door.

Thank God that He doesn’t view us the same way we sometimes do our spouses. He’s got a continuous reset button for us.  He will always forgive us and grant us another chance.  He will never stop loving us.  He will never leave us.  Can you say the same thing about you and your spouse?

When you hit the reset button, you never look back.  You look ahead at how you want your marriage to be and use the present to figure out the best way to do that.  It takes a lot of work, much like sticking to that New Year’s resolution.  Most of us never fulfill those silly promises we make at the turn of a new year.  We quit before we reach our goals as many people do in marriages.  At least half of us will divorce with the rate now at 50%.  (Close to 60% in Florida.)

I cringe when I think of how many people will go through divorces.  Divorce is devastating, especially when there are children involved.  If you are going into 2013 with the least bit of concern for your marriage, I urge you to seek help and seek God.  Now is the time to fix it.  Things will only continue to worsen, especially if you make the decision to divorce. That will be the beginning of years of turmoil you’ve never imagined.

I am so grateful that we don’t need a reset button for God.  He doesn’t make mistakes.  He always forgives, and He will always be there for us.

Just remember though, your spouse isn’t God.  They will make mistakes and may not always be there for you.  As long as you have God with you to get you through the trials of life, you won’t be so dependent on your spouse to make you happy.  They are also trying to weed their way through this crazy world.  Do it together, with God – not from opposite sides.

Maybe this should be our New Year’s resolution – to make our marriages better than ever.

Happy New Year to you all and may 2013 be a blessed year!