Relationships...

1/10/10
Lately I have been thinking a lot about relationships. I have two daughters who are both of marriageable age and currently not in relationships. They talk occasionally about the associated frustrations, hopes and benefits of their present conditions and it gets me thinking. I was married for 22 years when death did us part. There were a lot of good years and some not so good too, so I think about that as well and tend to ponder what went wrong. My husband was a very good man and father and I truly thought he was my "soul mate". We lived together in relative peace and had a decent relationship, but we lost what we were to each other somewhere along the journey.

What is the key element that must be kept for a relationship to stay alive over the long haul? I have come to the conclusion that the essential piece to making any relationship (especially love) work is faith. I went to the dictionary to see what it said about faith and belief. Those words are often used as synonyms but there is a subtle difference that makes ALL the difference. Mr. Webster states..."BELIEF and FAITH are often used interchangeably but BELIEF may or may not imply certitude in the believer whereas FAITH always does even where there is no evidence or proof." (Mr. Webster's capitols, not mine)

So here is what I think. We can lose a lot in a relationship and find ways to continue or rebuild an even better one. But if you lose your faith, your certitude, in each other it is over. So this aging hippy says do everything you can to... keep the Faith.