The Truest Measure of A Relationship

Everyone wants the opportunity to fall in love, right? That’s the number one priority of many singles today…finding that one true love.  We often dream of the moment when we finally meet our “soul mate”, the man or woman of our dreams. 

But the quest to find true love often stops short of defining the logistics of an actual relationship. I mean have you ever read a fairy tale ending that presented you with a preview of what comes next?  There is no sneak peek of how Cinderella and Prince Charming worked through those difficult moments within their relationship. Just how did they overcome those inevitable communication barriers that lie at the core of many of their disagreements?

Reflecting on the irony within this fairy tale dream causes me to see the error in my own perspective. You see when I often think about love, I only consider the parts that make me feel good. I ponder on the aspects of love that support my goals, the “feel good parts” that I actually want to see happen.  At no time do I take into account the fact that my Prince Charming is a regular human being just like me. I fail to see that he might be just as flawed as I am.  I don’t consider the fact that my Prince Charming may be on a similar path of finding out just what life is all about and making mistakes along the way.

You see in my fairy tale dream, I fail to take into account the truest measure of a relationship. I neglect to see this one simple truth…

Love may be blind, but relationships are not.

Truth be told, relationships pull out every single weakness that you have, and lay them bare before another person. Relationships test the true essence of love. Relationships also help us decide whether we truly love someone, or just like them a lot when it is convenient for us. 

You see we often want to fall in love with someone.  But in my experience, we should challenge ourselves to fall in relationship with them.  Because when we challenge ourselves to fall in relationship with them, we are measuring our love by our level of commitment. Falling in relationship with someone creates an opportunity for us to ask ourselves this question:

Is what I desire truly love, or just the idea of love?

And so I leave you with this one thought…consider the possibility that falling in love creates an opportunity for something more. 

Falling in love creates an opportunity for you to find the truest measure of a relationship.