March 6, 2008

“I made a mistake.” “I was wrong.” Two of the most important sentences you will ever learn. There are not perfect wives, no perfect husbands, no perfect children and certainly no perfect parents. Healthy families do not require perfection, but they do require the willingness to admit when you do wrong. When Dr. Jennifer Thomas and I wrote the book: the five languages of apology, we discovered that for some people, this is what they are looking for in an apology. If you don’t admit that you were wrong, they feel that your apology is insincere.

The next time you need to apologize, you might use those words: “I made a mistake.” “I was wrong.” It might make it easier for your spouse to accept your apology and forgive you.

Today's A Growing Marriage Daily content has been written by Dr. Gary Chapman and is based on the book The Five Languages of Apology by Dr. Gary Chapman and Dr. Jennifer Thomas. Published by Northfield Publishers, copyright 2006. Used by permission.