More from Bets and Cowboy

This is a continuation of an interview with marriage mentoring veterans and good friends, Bets and Cowboy Davis:

What was the first significant turning point in your marriage?

Bets: When we began to feel as if we were a team and found it most fulfilling to be able to contribute to joint ventures such as parenting, work, play, politics, Bible teaching, premarital counseling, and teaching marriage enrichment courses.

Cowboy: After being defeated while seeking my third term in the Texas Legislature, our life began to take on a more normal routine. Our friends had always enjoyed a more conventional schedule of activity from the time they were first married. Serving in the legislature was very divisive to our marriage. For four years, I was in Austin more than I was in Houston with my family. But now, with me being involved in only one vocation (practicing law), we had time to be together and get involved in things together. When couples begin to work together as a team, they grow closer and more understanding of each other.

What is the biggest blessing of marriage for you personally?

Cowboy: We have become like two "peas in a pod". My wife is my best friend and cheerleader. She has never criticized me or put me down since we have been married. On the other hand, she has had several observations of how I could do things differently. She finds a later time to address them rather than at the time of my mistake. And even then, she is careful to point out something I have done, rather than attack me personally.

Bets: I am married to my "bestest" friend and soul mate! Our life is full of laughter and absolute joy. We are on the same page.....emotionally, intellectually, physically and spiritually. After fifty years of married life, we are closer and happier than we have ever been, and are still learning and growing.

Cowboy: Today, we communicate openly. There is nothing that we do not share together. This is the greatest blessing that a man could ever hope for. When God gave me Bets, He gave me the grand prize. My wife is very positively oriented and seldom looks at the negative side of things.

What do you think is the greatest key to a successful married life together?

Bets: A couples' ability to communicate with openness and honesty with God and one another. Communication is to marriage as blood is to life. Whenever blood stops flowing, the body dies. Whenever communication stops flowing, the marriage dies!

Cowboy: For a marriage to succeed, it takes hard work by both parties. The key is for the husband to do whatever he can do to be his wife's cheerleader. To listen to whatever she has to say and be ready to help her achieve the goals she has set. When I maintain a positive attitude about everything my wife is about, the benefits come back to me many fold. It's a giver's gain. The more I give to my bride, the more she eagerly gives back to me. When God created marriage, He made communication the foundation of that relationship--to know and understand each other. It is so important that we communicate with our whole heart and mind with our spouse. When we do, it fills up your spouse's cup--and God is watching. If you succeed at this, you get a "box seat" in Heaven.

The conclusion of this excellent interview will be in the next post. Thanks again, Cowboy and Bets!