A Year-End Marriage Reflection: Questions to Help Couples Grow Closer

Life often moves at a pace that keeps married couples from slowing down and reflecting on the story they are living together. As the year comes to a close, many couples long to reconnect, communicate more deeply, and intentionally strengthen their marriage.

If you want to draw closer to your spouse in the final weeks of 2025, taking time for intentional marriage reflection can be a powerful place to begin.

Below are some of the year-end conversation questions for couples that we are walking through in our own marriage. Our prayer is that these questions will help you reflect on the past year, recognize God’s faithfulness, and grow in gratitude together as husband and wife.

Reflecting on the Past Year Together

In just the first question alone, Liz and I found ourselves thanking God for the many ways He has been faithful to us this year. We were reminded that one of the greatest gifts in marriage is the opportunity to pause, reflect, and give thanks together.

God blessed us with health and growth as a family. Some of our family highlights included watching Kayley and Violet play side by side on the Shekinah Junior High volleyball team. We saw them grow in character, teamwork, and confidence. We watched Faith enjoy horseback riding lessons, and all the girls grow in their knowledge in home education, domestic skills, and their love for the 11 new puppies that just arrived for our Golden Retreiver!

Work Together

Beyond our home, we reflected on vocational blessings as well. We gave thanks for the growth of Shiloh Mennonite Church where I pastor, and the Plain City Christian co-op that Liz co-leads.

We were grateful for opportunities for me to serve at Shiloh, preach a farewell sermon as Moderator of the Rosedale Network of Churches at Multiply 2025, and for Liz to serve her first year as Choral Camp Director at Rosedale Bible College. Together, we reflected on the gift of teaching Christlike-Relationships as at VidaNet in Costa Rica, providing input for a marriage workshop for business owners at Noble, Pastors at the Rosedale Network's Checking In retreat, and a church-wide marriage retreat hosted by the Riverview Christian Fellowship in Michigan. The list of blessings quickly grew longer than we could fully capture in one sitting or blog post!

Why Year-End Conversations Matter for Married Couples

At one point, I said to Liz, “If someone had told me twenty years ago what my 41st year would look like, I would have said, ‘That’s wild—more than I could ask or imagine.’” She agreed we have been blessed beyond measure.

Taking time for a year-end marriage conversation helped us see God’s hand more clearly and deepened our gratitude for one another. We took time to give God thanks together for all these highlights of the last year. These moments of reflection reminded us that intentional conversations are not just helpful—they are essential for a healthy, growing marriage.

Our hope is that these guided marriage questions will help you slow down, reflect together, and produce in your heart a shared gratitude for all God's blessings, and resolve to help each other through all life's challenges.

Here is the first section of questions for reflection.

Looking Back on 2025:

#1. If we created a highlight reel of the past year, what moments would make the cut for you?

#2. If we made a blooper reel of the past year - moments we could laugh about now - what

memories would be included?

#3. What dreams came true or goals did we accomplish this year?

#4. What unexpected blessings and/or challenges came our way?

#5. In what ways did we each change or grow this year?

#6. How did our relationship change or mature over the past year?