Trying to Grow
There's a little story that's always stuck with me. Hank Smith (a religious educator for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) told this story in one of his talks. One day, he noticed a sign in front of a grassy area at BYU, Provo. It read, "Don't walk on grass". Unfortunately, it was ineffective and the freshly laid sod was walked all over. Later in the week, the sign had changed. And it said something different, "I'm just trying to grow, please don't step on me". This time, there was no one on the grass. Why is that? Obviously, those in charge of the signs knew how use the pathos persuasive strategy. Yet, when you think about it, we are all, like the grass, just trying to grow; physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, etc. And unfortunately, we still tend to "step on" one another. Understanding this about others is so important to having good and healthy relationships that we can grow from. I think we would all be more patient with other people if we tried to see them as the students at BYU saw the grass with the second sign.
Besides patience, there are several other virtues that are so important in building any strong relationship (but particularly, one of the most important, which is in a marriage). Open-mindedness is also key to making decisions together. No two people are going to agree on everything, there will always have to be compromise or a peace maker when it comes to it. A friend of mine recently got married. She and her husband had dated for over a year before getting engaged, so I guess you could say they knew each other pretty well. And she told me that even though they knew each other so well, they still had to make so many adjustments on their way of doing things, just little tasks. In the words of my wonderful mother, "there is more than one right way to do something". And I 100% agree. I am not married, but I understand from talking to people who are, that a marriage is something you create. It takes a continuous effort. While some families may be similar, none are the same. Each family has their own culture in a way and when people get married, they have to figure our how to blend those cultures, or make anew. Being open-minded will go a long way.
I believe that if you want a happy and successful marriage, you have to be a happy and successful person before you get married. So many people (at my age particularly) can get caught up in looking for specific qualities in those they date, which is so important. But we also can't forget what's even more important which is to try and develop those qualities in ourselves. So, here's a challenge for you:), try writing that list of qualities you want in a future spouse and then focus on developing them in yourself, one at a time. You could even make a separate list specific to the qualities you want to develop in order to be a good spouse.
Anyway thanks for reading, hope you have an amazing week!:)
Besides patience, there are several other virtues that are so important in building any strong relationship (but particularly, one of the most important, which is in a marriage). Open-mindedness is also key to making decisions together. No two people are going to agree on everything, there will always have to be compromise or a peace maker when it comes to it. A friend of mine recently got married. She and her husband had dated for over a year before getting engaged, so I guess you could say they knew each other pretty well. And she told me that even though they knew each other so well, they still had to make so many adjustments on their way of doing things, just little tasks. In the words of my wonderful mother, "there is more than one right way to do something". And I 100% agree. I am not married, but I understand from talking to people who are, that a marriage is something you create. It takes a continuous effort. While some families may be similar, none are the same. Each family has their own culture in a way and when people get married, they have to figure our how to blend those cultures, or make anew. Being open-minded will go a long way.
I believe that if you want a happy and successful marriage, you have to be a happy and successful person before you get married. So many people (at my age particularly) can get caught up in looking for specific qualities in those they date, which is so important. But we also can't forget what's even more important which is to try and develop those qualities in ourselves. So, here's a challenge for you:), try writing that list of qualities you want in a future spouse and then focus on developing them in yourself, one at a time. You could even make a separate list specific to the qualities you want to develop in order to be a good spouse.
Anyway thanks for reading, hope you have an amazing week!:)
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