Once upon a time, my family was empty. Our front door revolved. Our house was a place to change clothes. Schedules overlapped and the calendar resembled a two-year-old’s scribble pad. My husband worked hard at our successful dental practice by day and even harder on a hobby by night. And our kids hurt.

My heart ached over the direction we were headed and thankfully my husband became weary of the pace, too. We had a home of individuals living individual lived with little family community and much stress. So we did the only thing we knew to do in a last attempt to repair our mess…

We canceled EVERYTHING.

We made our world small. Very small.

We moved from a megachurch to a church consisting of less than 100 people. Stopped sports, pulled out of social commitments, and canceled meetings. We even sold our LARGE dental practice, took time off. We played checkers, watched four seasons of 24, and got reacquainted.

I believe our family would be just another statistic today if we had not made these hard decisions. The culture shock was unreal. Adjusting to our new, simple life took serious commitments and refocusing. Fast-forward ten years and the dentist and I would not change one of those decisions. Our family has multiple not only in people but in love, strength, unity, and effectiveness.

Our calendar is full again, but with more unity. Weekly dates for my husband and me are penned in first, then family ministry, kid activities, and social events. We know that successful marriages and strong families do not just happen. So we made a plan to succeed. It’s good to say no to others in order to say yes to the vow promised to God. Never feel bad about disappointing others in order to stay true to your promise. I know my husband and I are each thankful that the other was willing to do the hard thing in order to have a strong happy marriage. It’s ok to slow down and even say that scary word, “NO” to others.

You can do it!