Husbands and wives have an incredible power to build up or to destroy one another. If they are not careful, spouses can lose sight of those special qualities that first drew them together. When this happens they begin to focus on the negatives.
Everyone needs affirmation. The Bible says, “How delightful is a timely word” (Proverbs 15:23, NASB). Charlie Shedd suggests that everyday spouses should share at least one thing they appreciate about each other, and weekly they should affirm a quality never mentioned before. Someone once said, “Try praising your wife, even if at first it frightens her.”
Humor, laughter, and pleasant times will also enhance a relationship, but this is often overlooked in the busyness and challenges of family life. The Bible says, “A cheerful heart is good medicine” (Proverbs 17:22). Life is serious business, but a couple who can laugh together will find joy in the midst of their struggles. One fitness expert claims that healthy people laugh several hundred times a day (Johnson, 1990, p. 72). (4)
One medical doctor calls laughter, “internal jogging,” and believes that it has a beneficial effect on most of the major systems of the body. A bumper sticker expresses the same thought in a different way: “ONE LAUGH = 3 TABLESPOONS OF OAT BRAN” (Johnson, 1990, p. 72). “Jogging on the inside” in response to some natural humor not only eases the pain and suffering of life, but is really an indication of hope.
