What Does It Really Mean to YIELD to Your Spouse?

Insights:

YIELD: A Sign For Your Marriage

It was a beautiful day as I drove through my old neighborhood recently. I saw a friend jogging toward me. I looked over to wave at him, and noticed a YIELD sign. This particular sign was right where two roads merge into one. If two cars try to merge from both lanes into one at the same time, the results are not good. Thus, there was a YIELD sign, and it was in my lane. I was supposed to slow down or stop and let the other driver enter the lane before I did. 

I looked up just in time to hit my brakes before I hit another car. It was a close call because I did not obey the YIELD sign.  

There are YIELD signs all over my marriage too. Too often, I ignore them. To me I often interpret the YIELD to mean that I yield to Nancy’s plans; that I do not get my way and she does. 

What it really means is that I am supposed to be unselfish even when I do not feel like it. There are times I get it and there are times I do not want to get it. 

I have said for years that the number one problem in marriage is selfishness. I should know. I struggle with it just like many of you do.

I have made an interesting observation. When I am driving and obey the YIELD sign, I never have a problem. I never had a wreck from obeying the YIELD sign. In my marriage, when I am unselfish, my marriage is really good. Do you know that Nancy and I have never, ever had a fight when I was being unselfish? Pretty amazing, huh?

What if you envisioned a YIELD sign right next to your spouse? Then, what if you obeyed it?  Finally, what if you did that day after day after day? Would you have an Awesome Marriage? Probably.

NOTE: This advice is intended for a healthy marriage. If you are being hurt or abused in your marriage, do not continue to yield. Seek professional help right away. 


Next Steps:

  • Think about the yield signs in your marriage.

  • Do you follow them?

  • If not, pick one and begin following it today.

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Quick Hits

This Week’s Quote:  

 Plácido Domingo

Plácido Domingo was born on 21 January 1941 in the Retiro district of Madrid, Spain. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, German, Spanish, English and Russian in the most prestigious opera houses in the world. In 1990, he began singing with fellow tenors Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras as part of The Three Tenors. The first Three Tenors recording became the best-selling classical album of all time.

  • When it becomes clear that no one else shares your level of passion, you are where you belong.

  • Should it happen tomorrow, I would fall to my knees to give thanks to God for such a career.

This Week’s Trivia Question: 

  • Who was the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?

Did You Know:    

  • On average, a person will share a birthday with 19 million other people from a population of over 7 billion. If you were born on the least common day of the year, you would still share the same birthday as 18 million people.

Something to Talk About:

  • If you disappeared with no warning, what explanation would everyone come up with?

This Week’s Trivia Answer:

  •  Aretha Franklin!  

Kim KimberlingComment