Being Good Stewards of Our Relationships During The Pandemic by Cynthia Nathan
Local lockdowns, disruptions to work and personal events are things so many of us are experiencing right now. Wherever you are in the world and whatever your personal circumstances are, life is not without its obstacles, roadblocks and challenges.
This pandemic and everything that has come with it have certainly played a number on our relationships! A good marriage and all other relationships doesn’t just happen by accident, it happens by INTENTION.
Successful couples have made a conscious decision to prioritise their relationships.
When it comes to challenges we face in this pandemic, the words below that I read in an article, make a lot of sense.
We are NOT all in the same BOAT!
We are in the same ‘STORM’
Some have YACHTS,
Some have CANOES and some are ‘DROWNING’
Just be kind and HELP when you can!
(Anonymous).
We can only help with things within our control. If anything, what we need to realise is that, life is constantly about learning to adapt and adjust to changes in all stages and seasons of personal growth and in our relationships.
It’s good to shift our mindsets in knowing that not all storms come to disrupt our lives. Some come to clear our path. In so, each of us learning to be the ‘best support human’ when our spouse, family and friends are going through difficult times, is crucial to our relationships. We owe this to each other.
Why? Let’s take a look at our marital relationship, God created mankind as man and woman and blessed their union, making them a help and support for each other, to love unselfishly and for their love to overflow and touch others, like that of Christ to his church.
Let’s change our mindset and shift our focus for a bit. This might sound crazy but let’s take a look at what may have been good for our relationships in this pandemic, not just our couple relationship but all the meaningful relationships in our lives. Let’s put them to the test and hopefully it lets us see things through a broader perspective.
Here are some of the positive effects on relationships we experienced in this pandemic thus far.
1) We have a better understanding of quality time (vs. quantity).
Yes many of us have spent a lot more time with our spouse and children this year. How much of it was simply time when you happened to be under the same roof, but you weren’t really enjoying each other’s company? Quality time takes effort and intention, even when quantity is plentiful and many of our options for distraction are taken away. We may have learned that 20minutes of good conversation can do more for our relational and emotional wellbeing than 2 hours of zoning out looking at our phones.
Ephesians 5:15
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but wise, making the best use of time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
2) We cherished non-text based interaction.
Pre-pandemic, many of us would rather text than have an actual phone conversation. After months of working remotely or simply not being able to chat in person whenever we liked, we now appreciate the nuanced communication cues that come with a certain tone, or facial expression, or the warmth conveyed through a casual hug from a loved one. These are all opportunities for small moments of human connection that a message can’t capture in quite the same way.
Romans 12:9
“Let love be genuine, abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.”