In just a
few weeks I will be going on a long vacation with my family. We will be driving and camping all the way down
to Florida where we will take in the sites in the Orlando area. I will be going with my husband, my two children,
my brother and his wife, their two children as well as with my parents. As I think about our trip, one of the things
that comes to mind is that we are going to be ten people going away together
for 23 days and we will all have different preferences, needs and desires. How are we ever going to figure out how to
manage all of this without someone getting hurt, being ignored or trampling on
each other?
Up until
recently, I would have thought that I had two options. 1) Just tell everyone what I want and hope for
the best, or, 2) Just keep my desires to myself, become a doormat, and let them
have their way. Isn't that the Christian
way of self-sacrifice? NOPE! It isn`t. Too many Christians think that God wants them
to be a doormat! Not True.
So, what am
I to do? I have very legitimate preferences
and desires, which make me who I am. I
also have ideas of what I would like to do on this trip. But so do they! Thankfully, Jesus loves to speak to us about
practical things like this. He is
showing me that it is appropriate to mention my preferences and desires, but I
also should be open to hearing what they want to do. He has been speaking to me a lot about give
and take and what that all looks like in relationships. It`s not like I didn't know any of this
beforehand, He`s just bringing further clarity, which leads to greater
love!
I used to
think of boundaries in terms of setting limits, saying no, or trying to stop
something bad from happening. I’m
starting to realize that boundaries are also about taking responsibility for the good things that I want to happen. I need to learn to communicate my preferences
and desires in a way that is best for me and the people that I’m in
relationships with.
So, the
first step is for me to be honest with myself
about my preferences and what I really want and be aware that these things are my
responsibility. I must own the
feelings that I have when these desires are not being met and I need to communicate
in a caring way, in order to make my
desires known. First, I have to stop and
repent of the many times that I either:
- Never bothered to communicate my preferences or desires (i.e. doormat, etc.)
- Communicated my preferences desires in ways that are uncaring and unloving towards others (i.e. manipulated, forced, controlled, etc.)
- Blamed others instead of taking responsibility for not having my desires fulfilled (i.e. saying things like: You never __________, or, If you would just ____________, then I would feel ________).
The next thing
that I need to keep in mind when I communicate these preferences and desires to
my family is that it is extremely important that I preserve their freedom while maintaining my own. Freedom is
essential to a good
relationship. I must feel free and they
must feel free, or our love will only be a cheap, artificial love. This means that I need to be careful to communicate
my preferences, needs and desires in such a way that doesn't make them feel obligated,
or guilty about feeling differently than me.
Part of this is being careful not to get mad, or judge them for desiring
something different than I do, or attach morality to their preference, or
withdraw emotionally if they disagree, or feel hurt or annoyed, or try to make
them feel guilty about wanting something that is different than what I want, or
going along with what they want pretending that it’s OK when it’s actually
not.
When I do
bring up my preferences and desires, it is important that I state things in
such a way that they feel like they can express what they desire, establishing freedom.
For example:
“I would
really like to ________________, but I`m interested in what you would like to
do.”
“I was sort
of thinking a good plan for the day would be ________________, but I would like
to hear your thoughts on this”
I’m sure you are getting the idea! When I make my preferences and desires known in a way that uses language that promotes freedom then the people in my life don’t feel controlled or like something is being demanded of them. I give them the opportunity to be their own person, and to state their preferences. This promotes love. It takes a lot of self-awareness to see how much freedom I have to state my own preferences and then to give others the same freedom to express their own.
Finally, it
is important to note that in any good relationship there will be a balance of
give and take. Especially with a group
of ten people, there should be negotiations so that everyone can have a chance
to have their needs met. This means that
I may not be able to have all of my desires met – and that’s OK. But if
I am clear with what is most important to me, and I am open to hear what is
important to everyone else, then we can give and take so everyone can end up
having a good time. This will promote
love and ensure that we can come home after a long vacation and actually genuinely
love each other.
So, with
Jesus reminding me and teaching me about this things, I hope to have a fabulous
vacation with my family! Wish me all the
best!
Book Resource: Boundaries Face to Face
by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend.
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