Nurture Your Relationships

This spring I planted a garden for the second time in my life.  The first time I planted a garden I neglected it, expecting it to flourish without my assistance.  Naturally it failed to thrive.

This time I decided to take care of my garden.  It’s a daily task.  In fact, it’s the first task of the day.  In the Texas heat I have found that sometimes I must water the garden twice a day.  I also must weed. I have to pick the vegetables daily, or they will begin to rot on the vine and the plants will stop producing.  I’ve learned a lot about gardening since I began this project and I already have ideas about my fall garden.

Relationships need nurturing also.  Sometimes we do what I did in my first garden, assuming we don’t have to take care of our relationships.  We don’t take the time to weed out our behaviors that damage the relationship.  We neglect our relationships, expecting that our partner will understand, or that it’s our partner’s responsibility.

Think about the important relationships in your life.  Do you expect your partner (child, parent, friend, etc.) to make all of the changes and accommodations?  Or do you realize that you, too, have a responsibility to nurture your relationship?

What are you doing right now that is helping your relationship?  If it’s working, keep doing it.  If what you’re doing is hurting your relationship, do something else.  If you can’t figure out what else to do, talk with someone about it.  There are plenty of people who can help, like counselors, pastors, friends, coworkers, and so on.  Take the initiative and nurture your relationship!