A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR

Who remembers the song from the classic movie, Mary Poppins?

“A Spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down

The medicine go down

The medicine go down

Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down

In a most delightful way”

I enjoyed watching the Mary Poppins Return by Emily Blunt with my daughter during the pandemic. She loves music and any movie with music is always her favourite. It was such a delight to just sing along.

I guess you are wondering how the song has any correlation with our marriages. It is no news that there has been a lot of bitter pills to swallow between last year when the pandemic hit and even now.  Several marriages have been impacted by the pandemic, several families have had to cut down on expenses, experienced job loss, pay cuts, depend on one source of income and so much more. We must understand that a successful marriage is not the absence of challenges; it is the presence of joy.

In scriptures, we find the passage in Proverbs 17:22 (NLT) that says “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength”

Several marriages have come to a place where it has become so difficult to have honest conversations without attacking the other party because of all the stress wrapped up in the day-to-day activities.

We need to take the song literarily and ensure we make it a point to coat our everyday words with sugar. The sugar here stands for kindness and tenderness. A Spanish proverb says that “He who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.” This is also true in marriage, show compassion by listening, validating, and being present at every conversation.

Before reacting or responding to your spouse, ask yourself if the words you are about to speak adhere to the law of kindness. So instead of using words that are negative, accusing, stress induced, use a spoonful of sugar to make the medicine go down. Always remember that kindness is a gift that everyone can afford.

Writer: Olusola Amu