Welcome to the Awesome Marriage Podcast, a place for honest conversations about marriage and how to have the relationship that God has designed for you.

I am your co-host, Christina Dodson. On the show will be our host, Dr. Kim Kimberling and Nill Smith.

To engage with the Awesome Marriage podcast, use the hashtag Awesome Marriage.

Today, in continuation of our mini series on three ways to leave and cleave, we're going to be talking about way number two to leave your family

and cleave to your spouse, which is establish boundaries. So Dr. Kim, why is it,

why is establishing boundaries with our family such an important step when it comes to this

leaving and cleaving command that God gives us?

You know, I think there's some situations, if boundaries aren't set, you'll never leave and cleave.

It's just there's some situations that are just that significant or that's the only way it's

going to happen.

And so I think you've got to decide, like we talked about in the last one, the physical distance, you've got to leave and cleave,

you've got talks about that. But if you have a family of origin that's not letting you do that,

then boundaries, and what boundaries basically is, it's just been some parameters around things.

It's saying this is what can happen. This one cannot happen and this is

why. And boundaries are done, hopefully, in a loving way, to establish some things that just aren't

happening otherwise. Yeah, certainly. And that's what I think of what I think of boundaries. They're

guidelines. They provide structure to your relationship. And really, for me, I think it's so important to establish boundaries with family because

if you don't establish boundaries, no one knows what they can and can't do.

And then you're just going to find yourself frustrated when your family does stuff.

But how are they supposed to know what you want them to do if you don't establish boundaries?

And if you don't communicate those boundaries, then how are you

going to operate in a good relationship? Because there is so much change in transition when it comes

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