One of the secrets to a long lasting relationship is the act of Appreciation! When was the last time you said 'thank you' to your spouse for doing the dishes? For doing the laundry? For taking to, and picking the kids from, school? For paying the bills? For calling you? For keeping you company? For fueling the car? For going grocery shopping with you? Am not talking about that hasty thank you you say with no emotions attached! Am talking that thank you when you look into your spouse's eyes and utter the words 'Thank You baby' I bet it's been awhile :) Don't worry, you ain't alone, many of us often neglect to do this simply because we either take things for granted, we expect them to do it anyways, or we are toooo focused on their faults to appreciate the lil good things they do for us! The bible says that the one who is faithful with the little will be given more! Which also means that the one who isn't, will not be given more and the little he/she has will be taken from them! We say its the little things that counts but we fail to appreciate these little things! If you appreciate the little things your spouse does for u, naturally your spouse will do more and even bigger things for you with time and this because they know you appreciate them not for what they do but cuz you value what they do whether small or big! But if you don't appreciate the little they do, it's very hard for them to do anything for you! And even if they do anything for you, it's not from a cheerful heart! I mentioned earlier some of the reasons why we seem to not appreciate our spouses! Let me talk a little bout some of them! The first one I want to talk about is our expectancy! We tend to expect our spouse to carry out certain responsibilities that we underrate them. But the truth is, whether it's their responsibilities or not, they did something good and a little thank you will go a long way to boost their morals and confidence! Another reason is that we are toooo focused on their faults! Most times we want our spouse to do certain things for us and when they don't do them, we frown and get upset! When we let our emotions control us, we wont appreciate anything good they do! But like I said, if you appreciate them now...they will love u more and may even end up doing what u asking them to do in the long run! You just hv to be patient! This doesn't mean that they will always end up doing what u want! No! But majority of the time, you will find that there's more understanding in the relationship! Learn to say 'thank you' for the little things that your spouse does for you and your spouse will be happy, you will be happy and the relationship will be filled with happiness! If you haven't said thank you to your spouse in a while, pick up that phone and call/SMS them and thank them for all that they've done for you and make it a daily habit of doing that! I've made it my habit to always spend a few minutes before bedtime to say thank you to my spouse before they goto bed! No wonder she sleeps like a baby all the time! :) Yours Sincerely Dr JayLove (@DocJayLove)