This topic comes with mixed opinions, because some couples said they loved their marriage preparation class, while others felt that they didn’t really get the real deal holy-field in their classes. I will share my two cents and hope you get some good points to take away from the blog.

So I believe ultimately marriage preparation and pre- marital counseling classes are a great a thing for those preparing for marriage. New couples all desire to be the best wife or husband for their future spouse, and soaking up the wisdom from those who have done it is essential to starting off on a good foot. In some aspects of marriage preparation It’s kind of like trying to read the book ” what to expect when you are expecting ” a book preparing for motherhood which has great information, but you still have to walk through the months of pregnancy to really understand the information that you have just read. Marriage preparation is great at cutting through the fluff and engaging in real conversations , but the newlywed years are the moments of application for the information you learned in those classes. For some engaged couples it’s hard to digest all of the information  you are getting at one time, because if you are anything like I was as a engaged person you  thought  ” oh no way anything challenging will happen to my marriage because hey I am ready for this!“

Even after counseling, reading books ,and talking to married couples there is still an element of on the job training that it takes to walk out this marriage thing. What marriage prep is a great for is to be a  wonderful resource and training to help your mind transition into your new life. It helps you to begin to help transition your mind set from the single way of thinking to the married way of thinking, because there is a difference. Marriage Prep can open the dialogue in helping you  managing your healthy and unhealthy expectations so that you walk into marriage with a  solid foundation. Marriage Prep doesn’t save you from having to walk out this thing called love out, but it gives you some tools to put into to practice when you are learning to love the ” married way”.

Walking into marriage is a bit of a step into the unknown and newlyweds have to be okay with not knowing it all. Again,  just like when you become a new parent and you have a new baby, be open to the learning curves, not getting it right all the time, some unexpected moments, but a beautiful new canvas you get to paint on.

The down fall to my marriage preparation classes was I kind of used it as a part of the check list thing  I need to do to say I completed it, versus really digesting what I was about to step into or getting the most out of the classes. So I encourage all those preparing for marriage understand that marriage will and does bring about a transformation in your life, and that even after preparing for marriage you will still have on the job training that is essential to becoming the wife or husband for the person you married. Please do prepare as an individual, in areas that you know you are weak in such as finances, and domestic things, but also understand some of the on the job marriage training is learning to love by faith!

Keep growing strong in your Marriage!

hope you enjoyed today’s blog!

Newlywed Nook Note