Showing gratitude to our spouses is important especially for our marriages. It can be as simple as saying thank you for the mundane things throughout the day or just acknowledging your spouse for being in your life. Gratitude can make a huge difference in marriage especially when life gets really busy. Personally, it has made a difference hearing my husband show appreciation for various random reasons or just for our marriage.
There are several ways to express thanks to your husband or wife and in this post, we will be sharing some amazing ideas to show him or her your gratitude.
How to show gratitude to your spouse
Tell them often
Tell your spouse how grateful you are often. Sometimes you do not need to wait till they do something special.The other day I thanked my husband randomly for always being on top of our bank account and helping to manage our finances. We use a joint account for our finances and he has been instrumental in keeping everything in check and balanced. Being intentional about telling your spouse how grateful you are and saying thank you is such a simple way to show gratitude. Sometimes we get so busy with life or so used to what each person does that we forget to show appreciation to them.
Get them something nice
How often do we give gifts for no reason? Not very often because most times we give gifts based on what the occasion is. Find something that your spouse loves and get it for them randomly. Give them a gift just because and tell them thank you with it. For women, that could be a massage session or get flowers, chocolates, or anything she cares about. For guys, maybe its cufflinks, a shaving kit etc. the gift could be as simple or as elaborate as you want it to be.
Plan something with your kids
You can even get your kids involved in expressing gratitude for your spouse. It’s so important for your children to learn about gratitude especially from you. When they see you showing your spouse gratitude or saying thank you, it goes a long way. Sometimes it is easy to say things but people especially kids learn better by seeing things in action. Tell your kids how great your spouse is, and about all the amazing things they have done. Together you can make simple crafts for your spouse, turn it into a fun family activity or just say thank you.
Pray for them
The benefits of praying for your spouse cannot be undermined. As wives and as husbands, we need to cover our spouses daily with prayers. This is a great way to show appreciation for all they are doing, you can simply ask them if you can pray for them for something or just do it on your own. You can text prayers to them or write them prayer notes. My husband has a white board in the bathroom and as often as I can, I write prayers and affirmations on it for him. I wrote a post in the past on scriptures on thanksgiving and gratitude.
Be the first to say sorry
Don’t always wait for the other person to say sorry especially when you know you are wrong. When we choose not to apologize and rather wait for the other person, we begin to suppress the anger and then show passive aggressiveness towards each other. Learning to apologize and own up to your mistakes also helps your relationship and teaches you both about forgiveness.
Stand up for your spouse in public
This is huge, no one wants to be ridiculed in public. One way to show gratitude at all times is to stand up for each other. Do not chastise each other in public because when you forgive each other, others may still hold on to it or in some cases it allows others begin to disrespect your spouse as well. No matter what may be going on with you and your spouse, stand up for them in public and correct them in private. This shows you respect them and also shows gratitude.
Listen actively without interrupting
Listening might seem like a mundane thing but it goes a long way. Sometimes your spouse just needs someone to talk to who would also just listen without jumping in to offer advice.
Give them compliments
Everyone loves to be complimented especially when its random and unexpected. Give your spouse compliments on how they look, something they did, something they said etc.
Write a heartfelt note
Write them a heartfelt note or letter showing your appreciation and then hide it somewhere for them to find. I love to randomly write little notes to my husband, in the past I would hide it in his lunchbox for work so he can see it during lunch. I also sometimes place it next to his toothbrush for him to find in the morning. Little notes like these have such huge impacts because they are not expected but can brighten up your spouse’s day. Find simple words to say thank you to your spouse.
An act of service/ help them with something
Give your spouse a break by performing an act of service. For my husband, since we have 3 kids, it gets crazy in the house and can be overwhelming so sometimes I take the kids out of the house so he can have some alone time to chill. It could be as simple as helping out with chores that your husband or wife is meant to do or assisting them to do it. Give your spouse the needed time and space to do something they would love to do.
Speak their love language/ do something he loves
If there is an activity or sport your spouse loves to do, try it out with them. Maybe your spouse loves to take hikes, you could take a day out and hike together. You will be surprised the conversations that can come out of just speaking your spouse’s love language and doing things with them. Maybe your spouse’s love language is quality time, spend more time with them, if its words of affirmation, find ways to compliment them regularly. Basically make extra efforts to connect with your spouse and show appreciation in whatever ways they receive it best.
Help your spouse achieve their goals
This can show up in different ways, for instance, maybe they are studying for an exam, you can cook them a nice meal, find simple ways to give them uninterrupted time to study, help them with chores round the house, listen to them practice for a presentation, help edit an essay or business plan etc. There are a million ways to help your spouse achieve their goals. One huge one for me was my transition from pharmacy to UX design, my husband supported me the entire time by standing by me in every way possible especially with the birth of our twins.
Set time aside for just both of you
Set some time aside to take your spouse out on a random date night. It may not even need to be outside the home, you can plan a small intimate time together at home. Here are some date night ideas on Marriedbygrace.com
Work together as a team
Find your strengths and complement each other by working as a team. Life gets busy with both spouses working or taking care of the kids or family and being able to work as a team helps balance things out. For instance, I do not enjoy clearing out the dishwasher, my husband on the other hand does not mind doing it, so I would leave it for him to clear out when it gets full. Teamwork just helps keep the craziness of life balanced and also shows appreciation for each other
There you have it! what are some ways you show gratitude to your spouse? If you enjoyed reading this post, feel free to share with others as well.