Week 160: Marriage and the Empty Nest

Join us this week in praying for marriages experiencing the “empty nest.”  Couples who have children know their children will one day “leave the nest” and establish independent lives of their own.  Even so, and even for those who have given it some serious thought, the departure can take couples by surprise and create a void they do not know how to fill.

This situation can be particular difficult if a couple has not maintained a balance between their role as parents and their role as husband and wife.  All of a sudden it is just the two of them and they do not know what to do with their spouse.  Oddly enough, an awkward period of re-acquaintance may be necessary as spouses re-orient their time and attention toward one another.

Some couples can experience a real sense of loss when the last child leaves the house, particularly if the empty nest comes quickly or unexpectedly or if the separation from children involves great distance or unusually long periods of time.

Also, “empty nesters” are faced with making wise decisions about the use of time and resources no longer consumed by their children.  Unless the circumstances are special, rarely does a spouse consume as much of a couples’ time and resources as children.  The use of this time can become a point of contention if one spouse sees it as individual play time and the other sees it as time to be productive.

Please join us in praying that these couples will

• Experience joy in their new situation
• Cherish and make the most of the additional one-on-one time they will have with each other
• Experience peace as they understand the departure of their children is actually the natural consequence of good parenting
• Make wise decisions about how to be good stewards of their new store of time and resources