Marriage and loving relationships is akin to a recipe that evolves over time, rarely adhering to the original instructions. How many of us genuinely begin with the unaltered recipe? It’s like tasting it a few times, making tweaks along the way, adjusting here and there to suit our taste buds.
Perhaps it’s due to changes in dietary preferences or a desire to adapt to different seasons in life. We play with the recipe, adding our own unique flavors. That’s what marriage is like. With 28 years of marriage under my belt, I can confidently say I’ve learned a thing or two.
Why a Recipe?
The inspiration for this connection between marriage and recipes arises from the fact that a recipe, with its diverse ingredients, mirrors the complexity of a marriage or relationship. A successful marriage is composed of various elements that, when blended just right, create a deeply fulfilling and delightful experience.
Reflecting on my own marriage/relationship ‘recipe,’ my husband and I have occasionally added and subtracted a few ingredients along the way. We’ve mixed in extra cups of patience, sprinkled in compromise, and even experimented with new flavors of communication. Through the years, our communication styles have changed, becoming more in-depth and centered around active listening, much like a pie in the oven — slowly and thoughtfully baked to perfection.
Because of these recipe changes and added flavors here and there, we have a dependable, solid recipe that we enjoy every day. In the spirit of lightheartedness and whimsy, I’ve crafted a recipe for a successful marriage below.
Here’s My Recipe for a Loving and Lasting Marriage:
Now, Let Me Explain the Ingredients:
Sweet Chocolatey Love:
Love is like chocolate — there’s milk chocolate, white chocolate, and bittersweet chocolate, each offering a different variety of love. Mixing these chocolates together and you are creating your own unique blend.
Heavenly Promising Trust:
Promising trust will create a promise of growth and optimism. It will birth a connection that will delight in dependability.
Fluffy, Creamy Honesty:
Fluffy, creamy honesty adds a scrumptious amount of comfort, warmth, and trustworthy care that is so lovely and important in a marriage.
Undeniable Velvety Attraction:
For this undeniable velvety attraction, is as smooth and silky as a slice of red velvet cake. Be extravagant! Be seductive! Attraction is so important in a marriage~ attraction to the mind, the soul, the personality, will whip up a melt-in-your-mouth chemistry.
Fruity Patience:
Patience is similar to a fruit. You must allow it to ripen before eating it so that it tastes as sweet and juicy as it can be. Always stay patient in your relationship. The sweet rewards will be as fresh as a sweet ripe peach.
Mouthwatering Appreciation:
Who doesn’t want to feel respected in their marriage? This is hearing those thank yous, feeling the gratitude from your spouse for doing something for them, and then showing your thanks and expressing your thankfulness for things they’ve done for you. A must to keep that mouthwatering delicacy in a marriage.
Gooey Caramel ‘Never Go to Bed Angry’ Crunchy Delights:
Let’s break it down. When I talk about the ‘gooey’ in the caramel, I mean those sticky moments, misunderstandings, and clashes in your relationship. Just like breaking open a Milky Way, let’s unveil the caramel, letting it flow out gracefully. Watch as it separates, and savor it all together. So before going to bed, settle your argument. Do not go to bed angry. Nothing is worse than having your Milky Way melt all over the floor. In the morning, it will still be a holy mess.
Nutty Promises and Affection:
With nutty promises and affection, who doesn’t enjoy a few nuts on their dessert unless they’re allergic? Then put chocolate shavings on top, but the ingredients of promise, affection, humor, and comfort are all incredible marriage toppings.
Communication Platter
Finally, the MOST important of all the ingredients is open communication! Having your setting your dessert, aka your marriage, on a solid foundation to keep it all together. You have just worked on your recipe, now it's time to keep it all together. Communication will be the cake platter in your life.
All of these ingredients contribute to a successful, tasty, and exciting Everlasting recipe called marriage. Not only do we get to enjoy it, but the children and family members around us get to share in our enthusiasm for our dish.
I hope that you have enjoyed my version of tips on how to have a successful marriage. When you get it right, it can be so sweet.
This was previously publication on Medium.
