I was fixing dinner the other night when, in passing, I noticed the menu board with the cute drawing of me and hubby kayaking. Immediately my mind flooded with wonderful memories!
Memories nourish a relationship!
Or perhaps I should clarify … warm memories nourish a relationship.
The opposite is also true … cold memories rot-away a relationship.
As you look at the little menu board, you can see listed for the week the meals which will nourish me and hubby physically. The same thing is true when it comes to relationships.
If we do not “nourish” our relationship, the relationship will eventually “starve.”
It takes investment to nourish our bodies physically. It requires money to purchase the food. It requires time and effort to go to the grocery store. It requires wise stewardship of the food once we bring it home and store it. And it requires time and effort to cook and prepare the food.
The same thing is true relationally. It requires a certain amount of “investment” to “nourish” a relationship.
Does this mean that in order to have a relationship we have to have lots of money? Not at all.
Here you can see a couple of photos of memories which have “nourished” mine & hubby’s relationship. My daughter jokes with me about how I always take photos of not-epic food in epic locations. These two photos are examples of just that: a half-sandwich on homemade bread up at Mt. Baker; and a Rainier cherry up at Mt. Rainier. In both instances, the hike was free … the lunch was inexpensive … and the memories were priceless!
Here is another one: a brownie … while trailing behind my kids at college-drop-off weekend. In this case the brownie was actually quite epic! And college-drop-off weekend … that’s a once-in-a-lifetime epic opportunity! The memories we made with our kids during their college experience were priceless!
Not only do we need to invest in creating memories which “nourish” our relationship … we need to wisely steward the deep matters of the heart which the other person opens up and shares. Tuck those things away in a safe place and “store” them wisely. Don’t share those sacred things with other people outside the relationship.
Nourishing our bodies physically requires time and effort to cook and prepare the meals. So also, in order to “nourish” our relationship it requires time and effort. Spend time together! Do things together.
Perhaps your relationship might be in shambles … and you might be wondering if it’s too late. Perhaps you have not “nourished” your relationship, and there is nothing but painful cold memories.
It’s not too late! You can change it … going forward … starting right now!
Start putting some effort into that relationship! Start right now!
Be willing to “invest” to “nourish” that relationship. Wisely steward those sacred matters of the heart. Put some effort into it. Spend time together!
Work to build warm memories into your relationship.
Warm memories nourish a relationship!
