The challenges of romantic relationships require practical, relational tools for healthy maintenance. It’d be great if you could just be in a relationship and everything works out. All you must do is show up knowing you have a forever plus 1. Unfortunately, reality holds steady a pin ready to burst your dreamy bubble. We’re naturally selfish, and relationships teach us to think outside of ourselves. Key word is teach – it’s a constant learning experience.
Relationships take work and effort because no one can read minds. Therefore, open lines of communication are required from all parties. Upset about something? Talk about it. Unsure about something? Talk about it. Frustrated by something? Share your thoughts. Why is all this talk necessary, you may ask? If you bottle up matters you are upset about, you will likely act out in unpleasant ways toward the person you claim to love.
They’ll be your default target for being mean even when it’s not their fault. Although you ought to be mature enough not to take out your frustrations on someone who isn’t to blame, you likely will. We humans tend to do that with people we feel safe around. Furthermore, without clear communication, we leave room for assumptions. That creates room for a mess that could be avoided and for misplaced offense.
God created us in relationship and for relationship. When God created us, He was in a community. Read Genesis 1:26, emphasising the “Let us create….”. Indeed, he is the main Man when it comes to creation, but right there, he shows us how it is good for us to have community. However, in this context, as he created Adam, he displays the beauty of the relationship between man and woman. We are not meant to be alone despite the challenges we may face relating to our different personalities or ways of dealing with issues. God made us all uniquely and knew way ahead of our existence about the clashes we would experience as we grow in our relationships.
All relationships require acquiring tools for handling them well, and we can thrive in these interchangeably because each one requires intentional effort to connect and grow together. People don’t deal with situations the way we think they should, and we don’t deal with them the way they feel we should. So, we can use three simple, practical tools as guidelines when working through our day-to-day relational encounters: overcome rejection, don’t assume, and understand before you are understood. It won’t always be perfect, but these are solid pointers for decreasing relationship complications.
This episode delves into the challenges of romantic relationships. We want to address issues such as communication, compatibility, commitment, trust, intimacy, and conflict resolution and how they affect the quality and longevity of a relationship. Join Maryka and Michelle as they share more practical tools to handle all your relationships well.
Don’t hesitate to connect with I Am Youth via our dedicated Youth Call Centre for compassionate guidance on the challenges you’re navigating. We’re here to listen and support you.
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