Romance: Something to Think About
There is a significant drop in satisfaction in a couple’s romance and sex lives when children arrive on the scene. However, couples with the most positive families make sex and romance a priority. Don’t let kids, money, busyness or anything else rob you of romance. When I kiss Cathy in front of my kids, they act like they’re grossed out, but really they like it. It gives them security. The only way to make romance a priority is to schedule it on the calendar. Sure, a scheduled date night is not as spontaneous as your romantic activities were before you had children; but if you don’t schedule special times together, they probably won’t happen often enough.
Two Scripture verses from the New Testament are meaningful to me in this area. Ephesians 5:25 says, “Love your wives.” The actual Greek meaning is “Keep on loving [or even treasuring] your wives.” This goes for wives also. The other verse is not just about marriage, but it is one of our marriage’s foundation verses: “Outdo one another in showing honor” (Rom. 12:10, NRSV). When we try to treat our spouse as a king or queen, it shows our spouse that we care. Cathy likes to say, “Romance starts in the morning with how we treat each other throughout the day.”