Keeping your marriage strong as you grow older doesn’t have to be difficult. There are a number of great things you can do to make sure you and your spouse are more in love than ever before.

By focusing on your marriage and making it a priority, you’ll find that the joy of being married to your best friend can be a lifelong experience. Choose the ideas that work best for you and your spouse, to help make your marriage stronger.

1. Attention is key.

People can drift apart, and you don’t want to let that happen to you and your spouse. The demands of careers and children can take their toll, and keep you from spending time together like you did in the beginning of your marriage. Make time each day, even if it’s just a few minutes, to really listen to each other and be close, physically and emotionally.

2. Don’t let the affection fade.

Caring about each other is something that should be shown on a regular basis. Keeping your feelings inside isn’t going to help keep your marriage strong, so remember to be affectionate. A hug, a kiss or even a sweet, longing look from across the room while you’re cooking dinner can be enough to help your spouse remember how much he or she is valued.

3. Re-affirm your love for one another.

A lot of couples renew their vows when they reach a milestone anniversary, but there are plenty of simple ways to re-affirm the love you have for your spouse. Cards, kind gestures and simply saying, “I love you” on a regular basis go a long way toward getting your marriage alive and happy. Don’t overlook the simple things, because it’s those simple things that really add up to a lifetime of happiness.

4. Take care of your health, both physically and mentally.

The healthier you and your spouse stay, the more things you can enjoy doing together. While some ailments may be out of your control, you can avoid a lot of problems by simply eating right and getting some exercise each day. Doing those things together can also make them a lot more fun, so you’re both more likely to keep heading in the right direction.

5. Remember and reminisce about the early years of your love.

There are so many good memories you’ve had with your spouse over the years. Talk about those memories, and how much they mean to you. You may even want to recreate some of your past dates and best memories for special occasions. That can make you feel young again, and help you reinforce your love for each other.

6. Friends, family and time alone all matter.

Balance is a very important part of a good marriage, and it’s something you get better at the longer you’re together. When you focus too much on one area of your life, you can miss out on a lot of good things in other areas. As you and your spouse grow older together, finding the right balance between all the things that matter to you is a great way to keep your marriage strong and healthy.

7. Always have each other’s back.

No matter what might be going on around you, don’t ever give up on each other. If you can’t trust your spouse to stand up for you, whom can you trust? That doesn’t mean you’ll always agree, or that you’ll never “drop the ball” when you should have been helping, but it does mean that you have love and respect for one another that comes through, in spite of anything else going on.

When you focus on showing each other you care, and when you make the time to do things for and with your spouse, you can keep your marriage strong. It takes work, time and dedication, but it’s worth every bit of effort you’ll make. Good marriages provide security, love, laughter and plenty of other great things to life, and the longer the marriage lasts, the deeper the love often grows. Taking time to focus on your spouse and your marriage can help strengthen that love and make it last a lifetime.

John and Wendy, who both have Masters degrees in Clinical Counseling, run a crisis marriage counseling practice, Marriage Rescue Associates. Their practice specializes in solution-oriented therapy, which in turn equates to long lasting marriages. They offer everything from counseling to marriage retreats, which attributes to their 90% success rate.

What are some things you do to draw closer to your spouse that could be added to this list?

Which of the seven ways have you found to be most helpful in your marriage and why?

Disclaimer – I have no affiliation with Marriage Rescue Associates, nor am I receiving funds for sharing John and Wendy’s post today. Additionally, I am not personally acquainted with John or Wendy nor their business, but feel that what they’ve shared with us today are valuable insights that I wholeheartedly agree with and support. I hope you will let them know that you appreciate their wisdom in our comment section below! Thanks so much!

Joining with my friends at Works for Me Wednesday, Wifey Wednesday, Coffee and Conversation, Wholehearted Wednesday, and Whimsical Wednesday.

Now it’s time for Wedded Wednesday …

Check out our new WW button!

Find our other WW button code and guidelines here.

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.messymarriage.com" title="Messy Marriage"><img src="http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m502/bethsteff/Messy%20Marriage%20Buttons/WeddedWednesday170.jpg" alt="Messy Marriage" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

And don’t forget to include a link back here, because the easier people can find me, the more traffic I can send your way!

// <![CDATA[
document.write('’);
// ]]>