Every year, I send my car into the garage for an MOT, hoping it will pass without issue.

Often, I get a few minors, such a bulb or a brake pad to replace. Usually, the mechanic hands over a list of things I need to sort in the coming year before they become a problem. Now and again, I’m told that something was about to go horribly wrong and that it was fixed just in time.

Other than around the time of my car’s MOT though, I rarely stop to wonder if it’s all working as it should. Aside from petrol, maintenance doesn’t even flit through my mind.

It can be the same for my marriage. Part of my everyday life, it’s occasionally refueled, but rarely considered in terms of how well its working, if anything needs a bit of support or investment. I don’t think I’m alone in that.

It can be easy to prioritise family, work or social commitments and without meaning to, we can let our marriage – that intentional commitment we made to the person we love so much that we can’t spend our lives without them – fall off the priority list.

My husband and I have done ‘the Marriage Course’ three times in our marriage. It’s a bit like an MOT – a deliberate choice to spend time as a couple talking about the things that make up our marriage, reconnecting around what is good and strengthening any areas that haven’t been thought about for a while.

This Valentine’s Day, Radstock Baptist Church would like to invite you to put your marriage first – and to host a Marriage Course for you and your spouse. Come along to the first of seven weekly ‘date nights’. We’ll provide a comfortable space set aside for you to focus on your marriage with dinner, a short video and private conversation in your couple. Fully hosted, completely free.

Come along with your spouse to Radstock Baptist Church at 7.30 pm on Monday, 14th February to find out more.

You can find out more about ‘the Marriage Course’ online, where you can watch videos of what to expect, other couple’s experiences, or find out more about topics covered. Dinner will be simple and allergen sensitive, but please contact: charlie

[email protected] if you have any specific dietary needs or allergies.