Importance of Friendship in Marriage
You spend your entire adult life with your spouse, you experience joys and sorrows of life together. Your spouse is like your best friend who gives you a fulfilling married life. When married couples are friends, their marriage is less vulnerable to separation and divorce, common in most modern marriages. Friendship creates a strong bond between couples that makes them want to stay together.
The commitment of married couples to stay in a marriage enhances friendship through contentment, companionship, shared concern and thought. Here is why marital friendship is important:
Strengthens the physical and the emotional bond
Although the physical bond fades after sometime, friendship keeps the emotional connection strong in any marriage union. It gives you a chance to find activities that you both enjoy doing together. It is this bond that makes you miss your spouse when you are out for a work trip or prompts you to find out how he or she is doing while at work.
Creates openness
The friend in your spouse enhances openness and further trust between the two of you. You have nothing to hide from your partner; you talk over everything and anything without any fear of judgment. This is the ideal definition of marriage, despite the lack of physical attraction you still have many things that bring you together enhancing the marital bond- a key element for success in marriage.
Maintains a sense of marital security
A friend by your side makes you secure, no one competes with you for attention. Marital security allows you to explore your opportunities since you know you have all the support. Furthermore, it gives you a shoulder to lean on, no matter the outcomes of your decisions. Friendship in marriage makes you open up to your spouse, since he or she will give genuine advice with no selfish interest- you are not in any competition with your spouse.
Gives you marital peace
Nothing gives you the peace of mind than the thought that your spouse is your friend. Both of you prioritizes your each other’s needs in every decision you take. You have the liberty to share your thoughts and depend on each other.
You can enjoy each other’s company
Painting, washing the car, playing a game or taking a nature walk are some of the activities you might enjoy doing together as a couple. These activities enhance the bond you have as you also get to explore some of the character traits of your spouse that you don’t get to see in day to day life. Marriage experts admit that couples who indulge in activities doing together are less vulnerable to divorce and separation.
Provides marital satisfaction
Satisfaction in marriage can be achieved by efforts of both partners. Friendship is one attribute that enhances it. Friendship helps to solve conflicts between you and your partner with love. It makes marriages more meaningful.
The bottom line
Well, they do say that marrying your best friend is actually a great idea. Friendship is important in a marriage, because at the end of the day, you both should be able to spend time together, have fun, but also share silences and be comfortable around each other. This is the person you are going to spend you life with, it might as well be someone who let’s you be you.
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