'Counting On': Jim and Michelle send Duggar couples on marriage retreat to improve their relationships
Jim and Mitchelle Duggar have been happily married for a long time and they want the same for their children. To make sure that all the Duggar couples know what are the key tools to make a marriage work they thought it would be good for all of them to head out for a trip where they can understand each other better.
Five Duggar couples headed for the retreat, including Kendra and Jeremy, Josiah and Lauren, John David and Abbie, Jessa and Ben, and Joy-Anna and Austin. All of them seemed excited to go to the retreat but unsure about how things would turn. The couples were accompanied by Kendra's father, Paul Caldwell, who is a pastor.
Paul had organized a series of events lined for the pair to ensure that their marriage becomes stronger. While communicating to them the importance of having a strong marriage, he highlighted how it leads to the development of a strong family.
He also brought attention to the importance of having good communication. Paul pointed out that relationship is as strong as the communication between the pair. To prove his point he constructed an event to ensure that the pairs understand the importance of communication better.
The boys were asked to sit on a boat while being blindfolded and the girls had the task of telling them where to go. While the event ended up with the couples laughing, they did understand how communication can make a lot of difference in any relationship.
While this task allowed the pair to enjoy they also understood how to work things out in a marriage. The couples also got a chance to get to know each other better. The second task had the couples working together to learn about compromise. For this task, the pair had to build a nest to ensure that it could hold three marbles.
The important part of this task for the couples to come to an understanding to ensure that the nest does not break down. The couples understood the best way to compromise and how to give value to what the other partner was saying.
The third task involved the couples renewing their vows as Paul thought that it would help understand the value of commitment. The couples were given a chance to say the things they wanted to say while also promising something new to their partner. Overall, the experience left the couples learning more and cherishing their marriage.
'Counting On' airs on Tuesdays at 9 pm on TLC.