“It takes two to make a thing go right” are infamous words from a rap song from the late 1980s by Rob Base and DJ Easy Rock. Notice how even the simplest of expressions can mean so much in a relationship or marriage. It does require two people working together to ensure that the marriage or relationship runs smoothly. How tiring it would be if only one person put forth all or more effort in a relationship than the other…
Needless to say it would be very unsatisfying to the person who was always giving and never getting anything in return. Although admirable to give, it is sometimes pleasurable to receive. One of the benefits of being in a relationship is to get help. Your mate is not your errand-boy or maid to do chores you’re not willing to do. They are made to complement skills in which you may be lacking. If he’s good at communication, but you lack the calm demeanor to resolve issues, he may be able to teach you effective communication skills. If she’s great at organizing and planning, then humble your pride enough to ask for help and to learn how to organize your own laundry, for example.
Next to God, your mate is the most important person in your life. Afterwards, you build the connections and bonds that you have with other immediate family members, outside family, friends, church family, and your community. Review your relationships carefully to determine what you can give and what you should be getting in return. If you take a look at the pros and cons of each person you come into contact with, decide whose there to benefit just themselves, or there to be of assistance to you as well. If you are always the one to be there when they need you, but when you are in a tough situation, they’ve magically disappeared, reevaluate that relationship.
Don’t turn a seasonal friendship into a lifetime friendship. Some people enter our lives only for a season to teach us the lesson we need to learn, and then their task is complete. Unfortunately, we turn them into lifetime friends or partners and never let go of them. If they are planting a good seed of friendship in your life continually, season after season, you may have a great friendship or relationship which blossoms year after year. But for those people who were meant to just be here temporarily to teach us a lesson about what NOT to do in a relationship, or HOW to love the next person, or even determine WHEN the timing is right for the next man or woman of your dreams.
It does indeed take two or more people to make anything “go right”, and you have to make a choice whether or not you will be a person to assist and make things right for the good of everyone involved, or whether or not you will be a user and receive more than you give back. It may be obviously misleading to say, “well of course I don’t want to be a user, so I’m not going to choose the latter”, but you have to be honest not only with your mate or friend or spouse, but with yourself. Are you beneficial to them? What are you doing to ease their burdens? How can you make it better if you aren’t putting forth the proper effort? Ask God for the strength you need today to make all your relationships meaningful. Also ask Him which are the friends to keep or which are the ones to let go of. Guidance is more than just picking a choice based on your feelings. It is making an informed decision and asking a higher power for help first. God places people in our lives for a reason. It is up to you to know which are the ones He permanently placed in your life to better you as a person or those who need to be removed. So indeed, it takes more than two to make things “go right”…
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