Chelsea Smith Instagram – #MarriageMonday Special Guest
My wife (Annemarie) and I have been married for 24 years. We moved to the Los Angeles area a decade ago. What we didn’t know when we relocated was how we’d both feel out of our comfort zone and enter into a very lonely season.
We went through the hardest season of our marriage and didn’t know if we were going to make it.
I am naturally an “avoider” when it comes to conflict so as I was trying to maintain peace with my spouse by ignoring the issues, I was actually distancing myself more and more from her.
After months of going through the motions and feeling hopeless, we sought out therapy and I will never forget what the therapist said at our first session.
“Conflict will either lead to isolation or intimacy.”
I realized if I continued to ignore conflict, we would end up isolated from each other and it made my spouse feel like she was not heard or seen. I had to learn how to lean into conflict in a healthy way by communicating and asking questions and even though it feels uncomfortable. That is the way we learn to “fight right” and work through problems together and come to a place of deeper intimacy and strength in our marriage.
Is there an area in your life you are avoiding addressing conflict?
Annemarie & Elijah Waters
Churchome Pastor | Posted on 06/May/2024 22:01:48
