Children reap happiness from a happy marriage

By Stacy Lamorte, NOLA Catholic Parenting

Have you ever had one of those days when it seems that everything that can go wrong does go wrong?

Doesn’t it seem like our families seem to get the brunt of the backlash? Things that wouldn’t normally annoy us tend to be glaring flaws.

These are the times when we ask for God’s grace to not allow that nagging voice in our heads let us spiral into negative thoughts and actions. Anyone can allow those thoughts to snowball into huge fights or problems; God’s grace allows us to see them for what they are: simple human flaws.

Many of us at NOLA Catholic Parenting have touched on the fact that living a God-centered life with your spouse helps facilitate happiness in the family, in general.

My husband Kris and I by no means have a perfect marriage, but we certainly strive every day to stay in love. It is a choice to stay in love. And, when our children see us in a secure, loving relationship, it helps them to feel secure and loved.

Just because you have been married for a long time doesn’t mean you don’t have to work on your marriage together. Facilitating “In-Home Marriage Preparation” sessions with couples preparing to celebrate the sacrament of matrimony in the Catholic Church has been a huge gift to our marriage. It requires us to examine our marriage as well and to share the times that we have struggled ourselves and how we got through those struggles.

We still learn something new about each other every time, even after 16 years of marriage!

If you have never been to a Willwoods Marriage retreat, you may want to look into it. If you don’t have time to take an entire weekend, there are retreats at the Archdiocese of New Orleans Retreat Center in Metairie that can refresh you and your spouse in just one day.

Your marriage doesn’t have to be “in trouble” to take some time out to examine it.

We have so many great resources to support us in this archdiocese, many of them free or by suggested donation.

Question: Do you have any recommendations to share?

Stacy Glynn LaMorte is a wife and mother of three. She is a work-from-home mom who is a fitness professional and does bookkeeping part-time. She loves being with her family, traveling, exercising, reading, photography and gardening. Send comments to [email protected].