Not Your Average Headache

The topic of intimacy in married life is not the easiest thing to talk about let alone write up a whole post and throw it on the world wide web for all to see.

We may joke about that side of married life with a sister-in-law or whisper about our questions with a friend while our kids play on the playground or maybe even laugh with a group of married couples from church as everyone shares a funny story or marriage memory. All in good, clean fun, of course—reminding each person in the room that we are all normal, all walking through a marriage journey.

We laugh and joke and kid around; but honestly, the subject of intimacy in marriage is a very difficult topic for many couples.

When thinking about this post, I kept coming back to the old saying of “Not tonight… I have a headache.”

That seems to be to be the coded, universal “PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH ME” phrase, right?

What about when it isn’t just a headache?

What about when intimacy in married life is hard?

What about when there are huge challenges and major obstacles standing in the way of connecting with your spouse?

What about when you live half way across the globe and there isn’t a trusted friend to talk to or a sister to laugh with or a church group to make your troubles seem normal?

What about when it isn’t just an average headache but a world of hurt crashing down around you?

When you’ve battled geckos in the house and ants in the kitchen and sand on every surface and 3 languages at the market and 4 taxis to get home and a house helper that stole from you and a national church or team that isn’t accepting you and on and on the challenges go?

Feelings of isolation, hurt, pain . . . so many unknowns, stresses, and differences define your time.

There are days filled with these many struggles for you AND your spouse. Yet, you are supposed to connect in a very real, physical way at the end of the day?

Throw in humidity, mosquito nets, cranky kids, weird rashes, unexplained sicknesses, stomach issues and bathroom trips, dirty spaces and the smells of animals or loud music coming in the window, sometimes no running water, failed electricity and a seemingly broken house . . .

That’s not your average headache, is it?

Actually, it sounds like reality for married life overseas.

Then, it collides with another reality… the truth that marriage thrives only with connection, intimacy, quiet conversation, sweet laughter and open sharing.

Our marriage desperately needs the troubles and “headaches” to fade so that it can grow.

Since we are not dealing with just your average headache, that takes even more attention, thought, purpose, and care.

Marriage is fragile after all, and Satan would like nothing more than to break it for good.

I want to encourage you… you really are dealing with more than the average headache in marriage overseas. You have valid excuses and reasons and truly, so does your husband.

You both can exclaim at the end of the day, “I just need some sleep.” The stress is that overwhelming.

I also want to challenge you that your married life needs you both to engage, to push past the struggles, the hurts, the challenges and the overwhelming things standing in the way of intimacy.

Your marriage needs you to connect in every way, especially physically.

A few things you can do:

1) Go on a date! Find a coffee shop for conversation, do things you both love to do. Ask another worker to keep your kids overnight or for the day, mark off dates on the calendar that are meant for connecting with your spouse. Purposefully create an entire day that will help you both get a break from the headaches of life.

2) Leave it at the door of your bedroom. Go to bed early, turn on the air conditioner, read a book, take a shower, relax… talk. Reconnect. Leave troubles, issues, and annoyances outside the bedroom. They will be there tomorrow, I promise. You can walk back out the door in the morning and face them together.

3) Remember who your spouse is. They are your friend. Your confidant. Your helper. Your lover. Remember the years you’ve had together, the fun, the joy, the good times. Look at pictures, laugh, and share.

4) Remember who your spouse is not. They are not God. They are not perfect. They are not able to fix your entire world. Let them fail and make mistakes and frustrate you. Keep God at the center and look to Him for your every need. Take the pressure off your spouse. Let them be human just like you.

5) Remember who you are both becoming. EVERYTHING in marriage changes on the field. We’ve been married for almost 20 years and in many ways, it feels like we are starting all over. New roles, new customs, new ways of life. Give yourselves the grace and trust and time that it is going to take to relearn how to be married to this new person. God is doing something great—give Him space to work!

While we all have great and valid excuses NOT to be intimate, our marriages need us to take a step back, rethink and decide to be purposeful.

If we don’t, life will fly by and before we know it, days or weeks or months will have passed without any kind of real connection.

I’ve included a few links with some other thoughts on marriage and living overseas, but I’d love to hear your thoughts/ideas/tips/helps/challenges in the comments of this post.

Let’s spur one another on, encouraging each other from afar: to laugh, whisper and help each other remember it isn’t just your average headache, but we can move past it, grow and thrive in marriage overseas.

What has been a challenge for your marriage on the field?

What has helped to protect your friendship? your relationship? your marriage?

*This was originally published on Velvet Ashes