What
is your pet peeve? What drives you absolutely crazy? What causes you more
frustration and resentment than anything else in your life? What makes you to
want to walk out of the room or go for a very long drive?
The
answer to these questions may be a clue to explain why you no longer feel the
same intensity of joy and contentment with your life now, compared to what you
used to feel.
Maybe
there are household chores that no one ever does but you; the reason may be
that they never think about them. You could have a job jar or a chore list, so
that everyone could pick a chore each day.
There
could be a ministry that you thought you were involved in with a team, but it
turns out that one member of the team ran with his/her own ideas and made
decisions without consulting the rest of the team. Have the whole team kindly discuss
this with him/her.
Possibly
your mate takes you for granted and your date nights and romantic trysts occur
farther and farther apart. Using a calendar and reserving a time each week for one
another will go a long way in improving this record. Emergencies may arise
occasionally; but otherwise, you can look forward to this time together.
Your
mate may spend more than your budget allows, and it is hard to balance the
checkbook, or pay off the credit card debt every month. If heart-felt talks and
counseling does not remedy the situation, an envelope with cash will limit
his/her spending, while keeping you from paying overdrafts on the bank account.
A
lack of reliability can make you feel like you cannot trust your mate, friend,
associate, etc.; when a person neglects to read your blog, texts, emails and
answer your calls, or when they break promises and give you no say in choices
they make that affect you too, etc. this makes you feel slighted and unimportant
to them.
Or
maybe your mate is flirting with the opposite sex, which causes insecurity and
jealousy to invade your peace; a lack of consideration and appreciation may
drive a wedge between any two people.
Working
together to find a third alternative that both people feel good about will
solve many of these issues. Do not demand your own way, but discuss the issues
and brainstorm solutions until you both agree on one of them.
Prayer:
Father
God, help us to kindly admit to each other when something bothers us. Remind us
not to criticize or accuse, but to choose a time when we are both available to
chat about any negative issues that arise between us. Help us to see that we
may not be able to find an alternate solution to the problem, but talking about
it often diffuses the negative emotions in the situation.
When
we choose to understand one another's viewpoint, and we see where we are both
coming from, peace is often restored to the relationship; especially when You
remind us that we are human too, and are often frustrating and annoying as
well. Point out to us the good in each of us, so that we can focus on our
blessings and learn to be content.
Thought
for the Day:
Loving
someone is always a choice, and our contentment level is what we make it; when
we view life from a heavenly perspective, the little annoyances that attempt to
spoil our relationships cannot compare to the blessing and wisdom, which God
gives us every single day. - Song of Solomon 2:15; Psalm 23:1-4
