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Photo by Jared Sluyter |
Paul: I dread New Year’s Resolutions. I stopped making them
a while back because I would fall off the wagon and then figured, what’s the
point? It got me thinking that maybe this year I should do something that might
really make an impact in my life. What if Steph and I took a look at our
relationship to see where we could improve and resolve to do that?
This would require some serious reflection on my marriage vows and
whether or not I am living them out to the fullest.
Steph: When Paul
brought this up I thought it was a really great idea. Instead of resolving to
exercise more and eat less we could take a serious look at what is working in
our relationship and what we could be doing better. When he mentioned looking
at our wedding vows as a starting place it occurred to me that I hadn’t thought
about the actual vows we professed in a long time. It seemed to me that what we
really needed to do was re-evaluate how we were living out our vows to love,
honor and cherish each other.
Paul: I decided to reflect on how I am living out my vow to
cherish Stephanie. I know she is a person who thrives on physical and verbal
signs of affection as well as spending quality time together. I tend to be the
type of guy who thinks, “I told you I loved you once; if anything changes, I’ll
let you know.” I know I can do a better job of cherishing Steph by making a few
simple changes. So here’s my relationship resolution: I resolve to pay her more
compliments, sit close to her when watching TV or out for dinner, and being the
first person to say, “I love you” rather than simply responding to her when she
tells me she loves me.
Steph: I decided to reflect on how I am living out my
vow to honor Paul. I recalled the many times I have pushed to have my way or
corrected him on an insignificant detail as he is telling a story or interrupt
him when he is talking to ask a detail oriented question. Honoring Paul all the
days of my life means I respect him-his need to be on time, his desire for some
down time, his preference to finish a story or even just a thought without
interruption. I honor Paul when I remember these things. So, by re-evaluating how I am living out my
vow to honor Paul, I was able to come up with my relationship resolution: I resolve
to be on time, to give him some space to be alone, to listen with open ears and
closed mouth.
Paul: We hope to make our new approach to New Year’s
Resolutions an ongoing process of re-evaluating our relationship throughout the
year. By doing this we believe we will be more attentive to our vows of loving,
honoring, and cherishing each other.
Thank you! What a wonderful resolution! Happy New Year!
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