The Thief

You may not realize it, but you’re being robbed. Right now. 

The thief comes in many forms. It comes in the form of stress, anxiety, fear of failure, addiction, self-centeredness, or letting ourselves get too busy. 

No matter what form the thief comes in, it does the same thing every time. It robs us of the joy, peace and closeness with each other.  

Finances, in-laws, problems with sex, lack of communication, work, “busyness,” hobbies…  Whatever our “thief” is… Why do we let this thief take over? And what could be more important than re-evaluating, re-prioritizing and NOT letting any thief rob us of joy? 

Ken:

The thief strikes most of us at one time or another. For me, it can happen when work hours get long and fatigue sets in. I stumble around focusing on my own needs- usually my need for sleep. At other times, it’s when I get glued to a screen for many hours, whether it’s doing research for a much-anticipated vacation or getting hooked by a Netflix series on a day off. I do the things I want to do and fail to take time for us, allowing the “thief” to steal our togetherness.

Janine:

I know there are many things that ‘steal my time and attention’ and rob me of peace, as well as rob us of the closeness we want in our marriage. 

I’m a ‘list person’ who enjoys crossing things off my daily ‘to-do’ list.  Unfortunately, I sometimes let my ‘to-do’ list become more important than my relationship with Ken.  

Another thief that steals my time and energy is worry.   I wish I could go back and regain some of the time and energy I spent worrying about things over the years. (Worrying never changes the situation anyway!) I’m trying to recognize or ‘catch myself’ when I fall into the trap of worrying about things I can’t control.  

Living intentionally, guarding against the thief, and choosing to live in the present takes constant work and attention. When we recognize that the Thief is stealing the joy in our marriage we’ve learned to stop and refocus – either individually or as a couple. One way that a we do this is over our ‘Saturday morning coffee’ – a relaxed time to catch up with each other and talk about things that might be weighing us down mentally or emotionally.   Another extremely useful tool is the communication tool we learned at Worldwide Marriage Encounter, called Dialogue.  This tool helps us identify what’s going on under the surface and to get on the same page.

Identify your Thief

Can you identify the thief that’s stealing your peace and keeping you from the closeness and joy that is possible in your marriage?  

It’s time. Decide to reclaim your marriage and your life, today.