On a scale of 1-10, how important would you say getting away together is for your marriage. We're going with an 11! We can't emphasize enough how vital this is. With so many people and things needing our attention, energy, encouragement, love, and time it could be super easy for us to push "getting away" to the back burner and decide we dont have time for it, or can't afford it. The truth is however, that we can't afford not to. Our marriage is worth whatever effort it takes, whatever money it takes, to make it happen! Our marriage is worth it. Our kids are worth it. We are worth it!
We were reminded of that this week when we got the opportunity to escape for a few days. Allen had a business trip to West Palm Beach, and the kids and I (Carol) joined the fun! Yes...we took the kids...hold up on that tho. My family lives in that area, so it was a no brainer for us to go along and visit with family. In the middle of the week however, Allen and I escaped to stay at The Hilton in West Palm (and the kids got to stay and visit with family. Win-Win!) It was ridiculously beautiful! Allen's conference was right next door at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, so it was perfect. For dinner, instead of staying for the conference dinner party, we decided to go for a stroll to eat at City Place. Then we walked, and walked, and walked! It was so refreshing and relaxing! We got to see parts of West Palm that we wouldn't have seen, had we stayed in at the hotel. It was so much fun exploring the posh places together and dreaming and getting to have uninterrupted conversations. As we passed an Aston Martin Dealership, we just had to stop for a photo. Dream Cars!!!
Then we went back to the hotel and snuggled up in a chair by the pool together, relishing in the perfect night air and our sweet relationship. The next morning, the conference finished and we decided to go for a drive and explore some more. We happened upon this gorgeous old church. I totally squealed...and begged Allen to turn around and find a parking space. I LOVE old churches!!! It was truly breathtaking yall!
This was exactly what our marriage needed. No agenda. No plans. Just exploring and dreaming together. You see, although we have a great marriage, we are still human (duh 🙂) and no marriage is perfect...translating - we have been struggling a bit lately. In all honesty, we really were just struggling too much to put a marriage monday post together last week. We tried. We really did. But then we came to a point that we realized we were going to have to let it go for the week, for the sake of our relationship. We have been super busy pouring into our family, our kids (end of year school projects, ball games, etc), and our photog biz has been kicking! Yay!! All good stuff, but it can easily take a toll if we aren't super diligent to invest back into our marriage.
So here we are...back at it again! Taking the time to take strolls together...holding hands of course (heehee), cuddling with each other, and dreaming together. And maybe, just maybe our honesty will be an encouragement to you, knowing even we struggle at times and have to reevaluate and go have some fun together!
So...heres where the rubber meets the road. We want to encourage you not only to read these posts, but apply what you're learning to your awesome marriage as wel! What does your marriage need today? Has it been a while since you adventured together? When's the last time you held hands while going nowhere in particular? How often do you dream together? Go ahead...we give you permission to plan an adventure together! It could be as simple as trying a new restaurant in the next town over, or going to the beach (or mountains) for the day (or weekend - even better), or going biking together...or playing a mean game of frisbee golf! Haha. Whatever it is that you both love to do, put it on the calendar and get away for a few hours at least. Your marriage is worth the investment of adventure and the payoff is priceless!
Sometimes when you're struggling in your marriage you may feel you need to get away FROM each other, when in reality probably what you need most is to get away WITH each other. Works for us every time!
Cheering you on,
Allen & Carol
