Good food, it’s one of life’s great pleasures.
We all need to eat, it’s instinctive to all living creatures. Even a tiny baby lets you know they’re hungry. But more than just eating, we need a well balanced and nutritionally complete diet to help keep our bodies in the best possible shape.
In 2003 the World Health Organisation launched an initiative to promote the consumption of a more healthy diet across the world. Many countries have since implemented “5 a day” programmes to promote eating at least 5 portions of different fruit and vegetables each day. There are of course restrictions on what can be counted in your five but it provides an easy reminder to ensure your diet is balanced.
I sometimes think there should be a similar directive for maintaining a healthy marriage. But what would that look like? Could you love your spouse in five different ways every day? Perhaps it would be related to expressions of the five love languages; kind words, quality time, acts of service, gifts and touch.
Eating a balanced diet may not make a discernible difference to your health over night, but it’s a change worth making. For some people adjusting their diet to include those five portions requires a radical shift in thinking. For others it’s already a part of their normal lifestyle.
It may be a major change for us to include more varied expressions of love to our spouse. It may well require careful thought on our part to ensure that we make five intentional expressions of love. Consistently loving your spouse in a variety of ways, some of which may not come easy for you, will be great for the longevity of your marriage.
Too often we believe the ridiculous notion that an act of love should be unplanned to be “real”. It’s like saying that having a meal plan is less healthy way to eat. Sure, a spontaneous outpouring of love is a great thing, but planning is part of the final expression.
What can you do to help ensure you have a balanced love-diet?
