Focus on the Family Magazine - June/July 2023

Enjoy
Adventures
in Odyssey
in so many ways!
Choose from
• audio episodes on CD
• audio downloads
• fiction books or eBooks
• devotional books or eBooks
See our full Adventures in
Odyssey collection at
Shop.<strong>Focus</strong>OnTheFamily.ca
What will our marriage
look like in 20 years?
My wife, Lisa, and I never looked
forward to being empty nesters; we
loved active parenting. But our emptynest
years have been especially sweet
because we’re able to focus even more
on each other. If raising children had
turned out to be the only thing keeping
us together, once they were grown,
Lisa and I would’ve been strangers.
That would have made these years
heartbreaking.
Parenting seems all-consuming, but
for most of us, it’s only a season of our
lives. Pouring everything into parenting
to the detriment of our marriage is
like sprinting the first half of a marathon
without factoring in the second half.
What will your marriage look like
in 20 years? What kind of legacy will
you leave your children as they contemplate
getting married one day? Will
they remember growing up in a broken
home or with parents who had a
healthy, loving relationship?
Raising children is among the best
experiences in life. If you’re neglectful
as a parent, you’ll have many regrets.
But if you’re neglectful as a spouse,
you’ll have regrets of a different sort.
LISTEN NOW!
Find practical help from Gary
Thomas about staying connected
with your spouse through
the storms in life.
<strong>Focus</strong>OnTheFamily.ca/Radio
You can fall off on either end, so be
thoughtful and wise as you keep giving
more of yourself to each other even as
you give yourself to your children.
If I could give new dads one piece
of advice, it’s this: Make a solemn pact
with your wife that 20 years after the
birth of your first child, you will be
closer as a couple and even more committed
to the health of your marriage
than you are today. That’s one of the
best things you can do not only for
your marriage but also for your children.
Next to creating a home filled
with love, faith and worship, a healthy,
intimate marriage is the most fertile
spiritual environment you can provide
for your children. •
Gary Thomas is an international speaker and a
bestselling, award-winning author. One of his
many books is Sacred Parenting: How raising
children shapes our souls.