It’s okay to plainly state your intent. It’s a pretty good idea, actually, because subtle little brushstrokes are open to a lot of misinterpretation, or worse, not being interpreted at all.
Showing is better than telling, but telling is better than hinting.
There is no point in constructing an elaborate thematic device and leaving it camoflaged. For instance, if your idea is about a marriage crumbling under the weight of outside distractions, and you elect to show that with a character, say, taking up golf, then you want to make sure at some point before that happens that someone says “We never do anything together anymore.” and “You’re right, we should.”
Or something like that, to blast out the message that the golfer has made the deliberate choice to turn his back on the marriage by devoting all this time to a solitary pursuit.
Otherwise, you end up with a story about a guy who starts playing golf, and his wife divorces him.
Obvious to you is not obvious to readers, who only have your words to go by. Use some of them to declare your intent.