Memorial Day is a time to remember our service men and women, and we discuss the challenges of marriage on the military family. Best-selling author Dr. Gary Chapman has written a book on the 5 love languages especially for military families, and he addresses their unique challenges.

Listen as Neil and Gary discuss several aspects of love, marriage, and the military:

• 2/3 of all marriages involving an enlisted spouse will end in divorce; the need for resources to strengthen these relationships is high.

• The difficulty a military spouse has in obeying his commander and being taken from his wife

• A review of the 5 love languages – physical touch, acts of service, quality time, gifts, and words of affirmation. “If a couple can learn to communicate love in a language that the other person understand and needs… and stay emotionally connected, then we can process the rest of marriage much easier. All couples have conflict – we think differently, we feel differently. But if you feel loved by each other,  then you can navigate those conflicts in a much more positive manner and find solutions.”

• Creative ways to exercise each language – use technology (Skype, email, phone calls) to express words of affirmation. Read a book together, a chapter at a time, and share via email what you’ve been learning to exercise quality time. Send care packages back and forth that include items of clothing that the spouse can hold or hug to exercise gifts or physical touch. Pray for each other as an act of service.

• How the church can minister to families while a loved one is serving overseas.

Highlight – the 5 love languages

The 5 love languages: military edition