When chronic illness enters a marriage, it doesn’t just affect one person—it touches everything. Routines shift, intimacy changes, energy drops, and even the way you see each other can be altered. In this honest and hope-filled episode, we talk about the silent grief couples carry, the changes they face, and how to begin healing and reconnecting in a new, grace-filled way. We even share our own personal story.

Whether you’re the one facing health challenges or the one walking alongside, there is hope for restoration—not necessarily of the “before” life, but of connection, intimacy, and partnership in the “now.”

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• The unspoken losses chronic illness brings into marriage—and why it’s okay to grieve them
• How to rebuild connection and intimacy in new and meaningful ways
• Practical steps for healing together and making space for honest conversations
• Encouragement and Scripture to remind you that you’re not alone in this journey

Key Takeaways & Scriptures:
💬 “When chronic illness enters a marriage, it doesn’t just affect one person—it touches everything. But it doesn’t have to define everything.”
📖 Romans 12:15 – “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”
📖 1 Corinthians 13:7 – “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
📖 Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 – “Two are better than one… If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.”

Links & Resources:

• Download the Couples Conversation Worksheet (Ihttps://expeditionmarriage.org/podcast/ep-155-healing-your-marriage-after-chronic-illness)– Use this free guide to start meaningful conversations about healing and connection in your marriage after chronic illness.

• Check out Jackie Hill Perry’s teaching on In Defence of Hope. We know it will be an ecnouragement for you. https://youtu.be/pdXu23RLCE8?si=ymhPjOd2V8XKr107

• Need more support? Visit ExpeditionMarriage.org for coaching, resources, and tools.

• Share this episode with a friend or couple who’s navigating chronic illness—they need encouragement too!

Let’s Connect:
If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs it. Together, we can spread hope and equip more marriages to thrive—no matter the season they’re in.

Does your spouse always say “yes,” avoid conflict, or seem overly focused on making everyone else happy—even at their own expense? You may be married to a Pleaser. In this episode, we’re unpacking what it really means to be married to a Pleaser—how this love style forms, how it impacts your relationship, and what both of you can do to create deeper emotional intimacy.

💬 “Pleasers aren’t trying to be fake—they’re trying to stay safe.”

This episode is all about moving from performance to authenticity—and learning to build a marriage where honesty, vulnerability, and mutual care are welcome.

🧭 What You’ll Learn:

• What drives the Pleaser Love Style
• Why pleasers often avoid conflict and overextend themselves
• What it’s like being married to a Pleaser—and the hidden costs of chronic “yes”
• How to respond with love, not pressure
• Practical steps for Pleasers to grow in confidence and connection

💡 Key Highlights:

• Pleasers often come from critical or high-pressure homes and learned to keep the peace by minimizing their needs.
• Being married to a Pleaser may feel emotionally confusing—because it’s hard to connect with someone who won’t show you their full self.
• Change is possible when Pleasers feel safe to express, say no, and trust that love isn’t based on performance.

📖 Scriptures Mentioned:

• Galatians 1:10 – “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God?”
• Ephesians 4:15 – “Speak the truth in love…”

🎯 Take Action:

• 💬 Talk with your spouse using these connecting questions:

1. What is one thing I can do for you to help make tomorrow easier?
2. What reactions of mine tend to be stressful to you?
3. Is there an area of your life, even with me, where you feel like you have to walk on eggshells? Why is that?

• 📤 Share this episode with a friend or couple who may need it.
• ⭐️ Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform to help other couples find biblical encouragement.
• 🔗 Visit ExpeditionMarriage.org for more marriage tools and support.

💭 You don’t have to earn love through peacekeeping. Real connection happens when you let yourself be known—and loved—in truth.

Do you ever feel like you're talking to a wall? Or maybe like you're carrying all the emotional weight in your marriage? If so, you might be married to an Avoider—someone who disconnects emotionally, struggles with vulnerability, and often insists they’re “fine” when they’re anything but.

In today’s episode, we’re taking a deeper look into what emotional avoidance really is, where it comes from, and—most importantly—how to build emotional safety and connection in a marriage where one spouse tends to shut down.

💬 “Being married to an avoider doesn’t mean your spouse doesn’t care—it often means they were never taught how to engage emotionally in healthy ways.”

🧭 What You’ll Learn:

• The traits and mindset of the Avoider Love Style
• Why emotional shutdown isn’t personal—it’s protective
• What it’s really like being married to an avoider
• How their childhood may have shaped their emotional patterns
• Practical and biblical tools to invite connection and build trust
• Encouragement for avoiders to grow emotionally and spiritually

📖 Scriptures Mentioned:

• Psalm 34:18 – “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted…”
• Ezekiel 36:26 – “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.”

🎯 Take Action:

• Visit ExpeditionMarriage.org for biblically based marriage resources and counseling.
• Share this episode with a friend who may be married to an avoider.
• Don’t forget to leave a rating or review to help more couples discover hope and healing.

💡 You’re not stuck in a cycle of disconnection—there is hope, growth, and emotional intimacy waiting on the other side of avoidance. Let’s start the journey together.