Cleave Unto Your Spouse

Genesis 2:24 says,

“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife.”

The Oxford English Dictionary states, to “cleave” means to “remain attached, devoted, or faithful to.”

I’ve always been very close with my parents and have shared everything with them, but as I was preparing to get married my mom told me that once I got married I had to share everything with my husband rather than with her or my dad. At first it was really difficult because my first instinct was to call my mom, but as time went on I got more and more comfortable turning to my husband.

If a husband or wife turn back to their parents or someone else for advice rather than their spouse, then their spouse could be left feeling like they couldn’t be trusted or they weren’t intelligent enough to help them out.

James M. Harper said,

“Married couples should discuss what they will do to protect, maintain, and repair (if necessary) the invisible boundary or fence that guards their marriage.”

You and your spouse need to work together to decide what those boundaries will look like when it comes to guarding your marriage.

In a marriage, you have to be a partnership, otherwise it significantly decreases your odds of success.

It is also very important to be patient with your spouse because it can be a difficult transition changing your confidante from your parent to your spouse, and the process is different for everyone. When we were engaged I stilled turned to my parents because we weren't married yet, but I began including him in decisions, then by the time we were married I was turning, most often, to my husband.

An important thing to remember is this, although you must cleave to your spouse instead of your parents once you are married, you should make sure you don’t ignore or forget about your parents.