Keeping the Love Alive

Still in the spirit of the love month, I shall be giving my two cents on keeping relationships afloat and how your relationships can grow and last a lifetime.

Right off the bat I am going to confess that I am no relationship expert.

I have not been mushy, goo-goo in love with someone before but relationships extend far beyond the romantic kind.

It includes friendships, families, and of course our relationship with God so I think from my standpoint, I do have some experience and knowledge about this topic of love and relationships.

Building good relationships starts with having good communication. Communication is very important in relationships as we all know but how much communication do we actually invest in our relationships?

In the digital age, we might think that we know a person just by looking at his or her Facebook page or by following his or her tweets which is quite superficial. Spending time with people will help you to understand where they are coming from and learn their quirks, attitudes, and values.

Listening to them can also give you a picture of how they view other people and themselves. Getting to know someone is not limited to just their favorites, likes and dislikes, and interests but there must exist a mutual  emotional connection between two people that allows them to be in harmony with the other.

This connection does not necessarily have to be romantic in anyway but you must simply be able to sense what your friends or family are going through so that you can empathize, encourage, or uplift them when they are faced with problems or stress.

We need to be able to tell each other plainly what bothers you or perhaps to correct them of a mistake that they did in a loving manner because you care for them and would not want them to go astray or perhaps to give advice.

For me, this is the foundation of good relationships and the important ingredient that would keep your bonds strong so that your relationships can last a lifetime.

This is also very true in our relationship with God and actually having a firm connection with God is our basis for having a solid, flourishing relationship with people. For us to be able to know God, we need to read His Word and receive from Him certain lessons to direct our paths.

God may reveal certain attitudes that we need to change or sins that we need to confess and repent from so that we may grow steadily in spirit and that we might stand firm in our faith and not waver when temptations knock on our door or when storms rage in our lives.

In the same way, we grow in our human relationships by being open and transparent with one another. Just as we pray to God so that we can listen to His voice talking to our hearts, talking with our friends and family is the best way to get intimate with them.

We get the chance to know even the subtlest and smallest details about them that would enable us to deal with them in a better way since we already have an idea of how they act or what their favorite things are. We also get acquainted with their quirks which make them unique and lovable.

Also, we must be open for correction or reproof and heed the critiques of our friends and family, especially your parents, since they see your actions clearly and want the best for you because they love you.

Having Jesus Christ in your heart and God in the center of your life is the best assurance we have to keep the love alive and our relationships lasting. As I have said before, there is an emptiness in our hearts, a void that only God can fill and no one else.

God is the only one who can complete our lives and make us whole and satisfied. If God is not at the center of our lives then everything else is going to fall apart, well not immediately but the success and security of our lives are not guaranteed if we attempt to attain them by our own means and abilities.

The fact is God gave us everything and apart from Him we are nothing. So when our lives are centered around God and dedicated to obey His commands then He will be faithful and give us the desires of our heart.

These desires are not mere material possessions or prosperity but the spiritual blessings that only God can give such as joy, love, peace, contentment, satisfaction, His favor, and all the benefits of God.

So as Matthew 6:33 says, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness then all these things shall be added unto you."