Going to church

[Timmy234]

My wife and I have always considered ourselves as active members. We both are temple worthy and do the best we can. However, I work every other Sunday. My wife and I go to church every other week, but I can’t go the week I work.

My wife doesn’t go without me though. If I work on a Sunday she will sleep in and not go to church at all. She still reads the scriptures daily and prays daily as well. She has a testimony and is always excited to tell me what she learned during her studies.

For some reason she will never go to church unless I’m with her. There’s even been two weeks I had to go to church without her, because she won’t get up in time. 

maybe I’m thinking too much into this, but I’m worried about how this will effect our future family. For context We’ve only been married for 1 year. 
 

any advice?

[NeuroTypical]

Hi and welcome Timmy234!

This doesn't really have anything to do with church attendance.  This is an issue around how you and your wife surface and resolve issues that come up in the marriage.  Absolutely, both of your behaviors and choices will effect your future family, on the topic of church attendance and others. 

So, how do you go about surfacing and resolving issues with your wife?  Have you brought the subject up with her?  

 

[Just_A_Guy]

Hi, Timmy; and welcome!

The two things that go through my mind are:

1). What kind of family, and what degree of church involvement do you want to have, twenty years from now?  That won’t “just happen”; it will be the result of the trajectory that you and your wife are setting now.

2). Your wife sounds like an introvert who prefers to avoid crowds (like me!).  That’s fine; but the older I get, the more value I find in my relationships with my ward members; and I’d encourage her (and you!) to begin building those now.  🙂

[askandanswer]

To reinforce what @Just_A_Guysaid, without some sort of change your current direction is likely to be your future direction. Perhaps you could give some consideration to where your future direction is likely to take you and what sort of change you can most successfully and effectively make. Example is often considered by many to be a successfull and effective means of bringing about change. 

[Vort]

To the excellent advice given above, I would add that, like poor posture or bothersome tics, this is something that is best addressed as soon as possible. If you wait ten years, the actions will be fossilized to the point that it will become very difficult to change the habit.

If you (or your wife) ask yourself (herself) every Sunday morning whether to get up and go to Church, then it's a decision you have to make every week, and eventually you'll get tired of it. If instead you say, "Hey, it's Sunday, time to get up and go to Church like I ALWAYS DO WITHOUT FAIL", then you are far more likely to remain active in your Church participation.