Room-mate vs. Soul-mate

"We have been married for years but at timese I feel like we are room-mates instead of soul-mates. Our marriage lacks passion. Truthfully, it's boring and I'm afraid one or both of us will get interested in someone else if this doesn't change. What shall we do?"

~ Excellent room-mates

The traits of a room-mate marriage include:

• Not eating meals together;
• Watching TV without talking;
• Communicating about problems and work but not communicating face to face;
• Rarely praying or worshiping together;
• Having physical intercourse without intimacy;
• Arguing about finances but not working out a budget or financial plan together;
• Feeling unnoticed or unappreciated by your spouse;
• Becoming easily irritated or angry;
• Going out to group functions but not staying together;
• Not having a daily, positive time together to communicate face to face about your relationship; not about children, problems, money or work; and 
• Feeling stressed out, tired, anxious and fearful about the future.

Soul-mate marriage, when a couple has true oneness, body, soul and spirit, looks like this:

• Both enjoy doing things together, spending quality time together and sharing intimately -- body, soul and spirit;
• Both seek out quiet times for prayer and sharing scripture together;
• Both encourage and affirm one another, seeking to support each other in times of work or financial stress;
• Both express the five love languages to each other -- gift giving, quality time, physical touch, affirming words and acts of service;
• Both admit wrongs, ask for forgiveness and forgive one another;
• Both laugh a lot, rest and eat right and find joy in the simple pleasures of life -- a walk, holding hands, sharing a hobby together, going out together, simply being together; and 
• Both working to keep the marriage from getting into a rut.

A useful reference, quoted from citynews report.