What Language Do You Speak?

 

Sometimes building relationships feels a bit like trying to learn to speak a foreign language, doesn’t it?

We all come from a family of origin with lots of quirks.
We all come from a particular region of the country with another set of peculiarities.
Then we all have our unique communication patterns.
We may share similar beliefs about God, or not.
We might draw energy from time alone (introverts) or draw energy for time with people (extroverts) or some of both (ambiverts).
Some of us seem to have inherited a love of tidiness. (I think it is in the Norwegian gene pool.)
Others of us find a certain coziness in piles (especially piles of books).
Some of us reach for people in times of crises; others of us try to go it alone.

I find it quite amazing that any of us actually manage to create life-giving relationships. Don’t you?

Almost once a year, often around Valentine’s Day, I find myself drifting back to a book that helps me understand relationships. (And, yes, I do have to hunt for it a bit in my cozy stack of books.) You’ve probably read the book: The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman.

I just took a quiz on the author’s website: http://www.5lovelanguages.com And I just signed up for a newsletter. Lots of good relationship-building tips here whether you are single or married.

Learning to speak the language of another takes a lot of in-the-field practice, doesn’t it? And lots of humility as we make mistakes. Oh, and large doses of laughter and forgiveness in the midst of those mistakes

Cheering you on as you keep working to understand and strengthen your relationships!

Just have to leave you with this photo too because it makes me think of my Chief Furry Officer, Ringo, who speaks a language all his own.