7 Steps to a Healthier Marriage video series

What a Healthy Marriage Looks Like

Many of us have grown up with a misunderstanding of what a healthy marriage looks like. Whether you listened to the “you complete me” message in the culture of the “two shall become one” message in the church, we often think we need to be the same as our spouse or be the one to fulfill their every need. In this video, Hope Restored marriage therapist Vicki Hooper gives two examples of an unhealthy marriage (enmeshed/codependent and disengaged/disconnected) before describing what God actually designed marriage to be.

Get more out of this series!

After watching video 3, follow these steps to get the most out of this part of the series:

// Step 1

Read and meditate on this verse: “‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.” (Mark 10:7-8)

// Step 2

Answer these questions with your spouse:

1. Where have you learned what marriage is supposed to look like?
2. How has it shaped your expectations for our own marriage?
3. What do you think of the statement, “The key to a healthy marriage is autonomy”?

// Step 3

Read the article “You (don’t) complete me: A healthier understanding of oneness in marriage” to work through the misunderstandings about marriage that could lead to codependence.

// Step 4

Read the article “Healthy individuals create healthy marriages” by Jill Savage to understand how taking responsibility of your own emotional, mental, physical and spiritual health creates a better marriage.

// Step 5

Move on to the next video to discover what a healthy marriage actually looks like.