One bit of advice I received years ago went along the following lines.
“The first hour of being married is like the first day. The first day like the first week, week month, month year, and year as the lifetime you will spend together. Make the best of what is now.”
I no longer believe the advice is true. It can be a leading indicator, but the correlation is not 100%. The linkage breaks down as people change, communication passes, and relationships mature. The critical question is the learning, feedback, and development of relationship. Without relationship growth then the first hour is the first day is the first week is the first year.
Far too often I find myself enthused with sweet beginnings. I relax and quickly fall into a pattern where I am not looking to change. Why should I? Things are off to a great start. The pattern is set and working. Early indicators are accurate. Wrong, wrong, and very wrong!
Sweet beginnings tell us only one thing; both parties are excited about the opportunity and there is the chance that each will be willing to invest in developing the relationship into something real, viable, and lasting. It is as if we know in our minds that “a bonanza at the beginning is no guarantee of a blessing at the end,” (Proverbs 20.21) yet our hearts keep telling us something different. If we believe our hearts we are lulled into a stillborn relationship.
Today is a new day of beginnings. For some it is a birthday, anniversary, or milestone. For others it is the opportunity to celebrate something, anything! Whatever our relationships were yesterday they do not have to stay that way today. We can grow by giving more of who we are. When we do this the equation changes and the relationship has the opportunity to be more than it was. When both parties give it all the potential is awesome.
God gave you and me heaven and eternal friendship. In fact both of us are adopted. The ending is our choice.
