This marriage stuff...

Hi Abba. I want to lift up my marriage to you as well as all the marriages of our friends and families. Andy and I had a rough week last week and I was really feeling down. He has a tendency to be so negative at times and it really drains me emotionally. I don't think he means it either, but I think sometimes he worries too much and that gets in the way of things. Anyway, I was talking to my friend Racheal yesterday and she said that they've been going through something similar in their marriage. We were talking about how this marriage stuff isn't all bliss like some people make it out to be or we've just married the wrong people. I mentioned that marriage is a lot of hard work to make it work and that I think we just get too comfortable with one another and start taking our partners for granted and it causes problems. I know that a lot of times I feel that I'm not cherished or unappreciated or that he doesn't want to take me out on dates. Andy feels that I'm not on the same page on our budgets or he feels that he's not being supported or appreciated either. I told Racheal that we just need to keep doing what we're doing and keep trying to communicate to our husbands with what our needs are and we need to keep doing the things for them that we're not meant to and if our husbands don't always appreciate it, we just have to remember that You do. I know deep down that my husband loves me and after we had a few heart to hearts, I think he understands a little more what has been bothering me. I pray that you will help my marriage stay strong and that you will bless us with a weekend away to celebrate our anniversary next month. I also lift up the marriages of our families and friends and pray for your blessings on each one. Keep our marriages strong, Abba, and help us to always remember why we got married in the first place. Help us love one another the way that we deserve to be loved and that we never take one another for granted.