1.  Agree with your spouse that your marriage must work. Too many handle their marriages as if they have other options. But marriage, much more than being a contract, is a covenant. So treat your marriage as one.

2.  Do not try to change your spouse. And this is one fatal mistake a lot of couples make: they want to change their spouse at all cost.

The truth is, the only one you can change is yourself; you can only pray to God to change your spouse. And besides, any attempt to change another is often drastically resisted.

3.  Agree on a standard of authority in your relationship. As a Christian, the only standard of authority you can have is the Word of God. If you can find it in the Word, there should be a commitment to obey it.

4.  Make a decision to love. The Bible, our final authority, enjoins the man to love his wife unconditionally. Love is a decision; it is an act of the will. With love, even major issues become non-issues.

5.  Maintain a positive attitude. A lot of us come into marriage with misconceptions based on what we have heard or the experiences of others. The right thing to do is to take only the positive from what you have heard or seen and reject the negative. What you must understand is that no two marriages are the same. Your marriage is unique; it will work even where others fail.

6.  Appreciate what you have. Conflicts often escalate because we do not appreciate our relationships. Your wife is God’s precious gift to you; see her as such and appreciate her accordingly.

Now, it takes one committed person to resolve most marital conflicts. Why not make a decision to be that person? God will give you the grace, in Jesus’ name.