When I first moved to Colorado, I planted a row of Ponderosa Pines on the back of my property. My hope was that they would one day grow to create a barrier and with that, offer some privacy. You may have planted bushes or built a wooden fence between you and your neighbors in order to accomplish the same thing.
We are pretty good about figuring out how to do that with our homes, but not always as diligent about it with our marriages. If you haven’t already, it is time to plant hedges around your heart. Huh? I am talking about protecting your heart.
Think about how fragile and vulnerable our hearts are. They are easily hurt by cruel and thoughtless comments. They are susceptible to feelings of injustice. They can feel anger and they can feel passion. And they are capable of betraying our most important relationships, especially when they have been wounded.
Your commitment to your spouse is unique. It should be unlike any connection you have with any other. And in that, there are things that should be saved for only that person. Yet many of us are careless. Without giving it much thought, we flirt with the opposite sex, we talk disparagingly about our spouse to co-workers, or we share our deepest feelings with someone other than our partner. When we do that, we rob our mate of what should belong solely to him or her.
An important principle in protecting our marriages is this idea of building a hedge, a wall of protection around our heart, and in turn, our marriage. Take a look at your marital landscape this week. Where is there a break in the hedge that needs to be reinforced? Assess those weakness in the defense and then recommit yourself to protecting all that belongs only to your partner.