The topic of priorities…what they should be, how to get them in order and how to keep them that way…has been on my mind for the last few weeks. Sparked by my current bible study using Chip Ingram’s Balancing Life’s Demands: Biblical Priorities for a Busy Life and questions that have come in from readers, I’m going to try to tackle the topic of priorities for the month of June, specifically priorities in our marriages and our families.
A study done back in 2009 at the University of Denver and Texas A&M found that 90% of parents reported decrease marital satisfaction after the birth of their first child. The study was done on 218 couples over an 8 year period. Headlines at the time read “Kids Curb Marital Satisfaction” and “Do Kids Take a Toll on Marriage?” Some seemed to advocate, based on the studies findings, that happily married couples without children should stay that way – avoid the kids and remain happy.
So, is that it? Just resign to the fact that having children will ruin your marriage? I think NOT!
Another group of 90 different studies of 31,000 married people determined that this might be a generational issue. The report showed a 42% decrease in martial satisfaction after the first child in comparison to the previous generation of parents. These martial problems were shown to be significant with one-third to one-half of the new parent couples experiencing as much marital distress as couples already in therapy for marital difficulties.
So, why is the current generation struggling so much with balancing kids and marriage? Could it be that we have lost sight of God’s design for priorities in the family?
Most of us know that God’s design for the family has marriage first and children second, all behind making Him the Ultimate First. Then you add in things like career, ministry, and everything else.
But how does that play out practically in life? Does your typical day display those priorities in proper order? How do you make first things first?
Come back each Thursday in June as I try to tackle some reader questions that deal with making our marriages a priority.
Leave your thoughts on the questions posed above…
Why is the current generation of parents struggling so much with balancing kids and marriage?
Where do you struggle to practically live out making your marriage a priority?
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