I cannot understand what they are saying, or read the text. But there were subtitles to help bridge the language barrier. There is a video of Japanese mothers bringing their babies for a one year old check up. While the doctor is examining the child, her husband is in the hall hanging pictures of the birth, and their young family. There are captions expressing his respect and love for all she has done for their baby. As each tired and anxious mother leaves the office she finds herself in a gallery devoted to her own first year of parenting. 

There were no subtitles for their tears, but I understood. 

The first years of marriage can be hard too. Unfortunately we do not have a system in place where couples have regular check ups, or show up to ask their pressing questions of someone with experience. Yet if we hope for relationships to thrive, how can we do less than we expend for our children? The stability of a marriage is enourmously important to the health of a child, yet our attention to keeping it strong could use an upgrade. 

I have experiemented with ways to honor marriages, with flowers, or a song, or a hand made card.

Sometimes I let a couple know I have been praying for them. One woman told me how much it meant to her, simply to know that. As a matter of fact, her reaction looked a lot like the women in the videos.