Staying connected no matter how many days each year you spend apart is one of the biggest challenges for military marriages. Staying spiritually connected can be even harder. Let’s be honest — sharing the intimacy of spiritual life can be downright awkward when you’re just starting out! These tips will help you and your husband bring God into your marriage, even when you’re half a world away from each other. These are especially useful ways to stay connected during deployments and other extended separations, like TDYs.
The YouVersion Bible App
This app is a must-have if you haven’t already downloaded it. Essentially, this app allows you access to numerous translations of the Bible offline, as well as a number of devotionals. Better yet, you can create a profile and become friends with your spouse! Through this connection you can both see notes you make on passages, verses you highlight, and progress you make on devotionals or Bible reading plans (though this does require an Internet connection). Seeing the progress and notes the other person is making will help you stay attuned the other person. It’s much easier to continue pursuing spiritual growth together despite miles between you with this app.
It's much easier to continue pursuing spiritual growth together despite miles between you with this app.Click To TweetWriting/Sharing Prayers & Requests
Sometimes timing and lack of availability will restrict your ability to pray together. Writing your prayers and prayer requests and sharing them can be a temporary substitute. The great thing about this option is that you don’t have any reason not to do it. You can use anything from email to snail mail!
Be Honest
During a deployment, it can be tempting to withhold all of your struggles and frustrations from your spouse to spare him the stress of issues back home, or for him to withhold his to spare you. While there may be times when you feel that’s necessary, it’s important that you don’t isolate yourselves from each other. Isolation, even when it’s self-imposed, can breed resentment in a marriage and will keep you from benefitting from the valuable support your spouse can offer you through prayer. If you work calmly through conflict and entrust each other’s burdens to God, sharing these struggles doesn’t need to burden either of you. Now more than ever, it’s crucial that you use communication skills that allow the two of you to discuss even contentious topics without arguing — it can be done.
Read a Marriage Devotional Together
Whether you choose a devotional in your new Bible app or a printed option, completing a devotional together can be a great way to pursue spiritual growth together. It also gives you something to talk about when you finally do get a chance to talk (and you get all of your life business out of the way). Deployments and TDYs don’t have to mean that your growth as a couple becomes stagnant.
