Every one of us came into marriage with certain expectations. And every one of us has dealt with the disappointment of unmet expectations in marriage. It is one of those things in marriage that will happen. When it does it can make you or break you.
An opportunity to develop a better marriage
This year my wife and I were asked to be a part of a group of seven couples all looking to grow our marriages. The group is led by a couple who have been married over 30 years. All the other couples have a similar family makeup. Most have been married 7-12 years, have young children ages 3-13, and are 30 somethings.
The couple leading the group views this group as their way of paying it forward. By them sharing the ups and downs of their 30+ year marriage, they are equipping another generation of marriages to be successful. My wife and I are very thankful for the group and for this couple.
This past weekend we discussed the topic of unmet expectations in marriage.
What happens when marriage expectations go unmet?
As I mentioned above, all marriages will be met with some level of unmet expectations. It is what happens after this which determines how it affects your marriage.
Your natural reaction may begin at disappointment. The disappointment may turn to hurt. After the hurt comes anger. Once you get angry you turn that anger toward your spouse in the form of punishment. In other words you make your spouse pay for not meeting your expectations.
Unfortunately these stages happen without us being aware. It is very hard to change something which you are unaware of. Well, now you know. So, what should you do about it?
There is a better way to deal with unmet expectations
You can be sure if the above pattern is followed in your marriage, it will be a rocky marriage at best. However, once you make yourself aware, you can be intentional about changing that pattern.
You can better deal with the unmet expectations and grow your marriage, even through them. I encourage you to put into practice the following four ways to deal with unmet expectations, and watch your marriage change for the better.
4 Great Ways to Deal with Unmet Expectations in Marriage
1) Love and forgive your spouse. When you exchanged marriage vows, you committed before God and your spouse that you would stay committed through everything. Honor this commitment, in spite of your spouse’s failures, and him/her falling short of expectations.
The need for forgiveness will never go away in your marriage, so get good at it! [Tweet this]
2) Communicate with the intent of understanding your spouse. Many times expectations go unmet in our marriage, the other person wasn’t even aware of what was expected. The only way to know what is expected, is to talk about it. Make regular communication a part of your marriage.
Don’t make knowing your spouse’s expectations a guessing game…talk about them. [Tweet this]
3) Change your perspective. In the real world of marriage you will never be able to meet all of your spouse’s needs and he/she will never be able to meet all of yours. We were never intended to do so.
Some needs can only be met by God alone. Develop this perspective and allow your spouse some grace in some areas.
4) Don’t throw your expectations out the window. Some expectations may be unrealistic and unfair to your spouse. That doesn’t mean lose hope in them or your spouse.
Part of your marriage purpose is to help one another grow. [Tweet this]
Continue to strive toward your hopes and aspirations. Work toward them, pray about them, and do it all together.
BMWK — Have you had expectations coming into marriage which your spouse has exceeded? Please praise your spouse by sharing them in the comment section below.