Know Yourself to Love Yourself
Tomorrow is my 13th wedding anniversary… 13 years since I said: “I do”. It’s wild to look back at pictures and see just how young we both looked, not just young in the age department, but young in the love department.
We were truly young in really knowing what being married meant.
Sure we had ideas… lots of ideas… and yet “knowing” really comes from doing.
I always knew marriage would challenge me to be patient, to be kind, and to be forgiving. However, I completely underestimated how much marriage would require me to better know myself.
In my very young and naïve way, I thought marriage was about knowing the other person. About taking the time to talk, to share, to listen… and all of those things are true… but also not the biggest piece of the pie.
In order to love well, you have to know yourself well. You have to slow down to know how you feel, what you think, and what you need.
You have to know yourself so you can share “you” with your partner. The “you” that dreams, the “you” that fears, the “you” that needs, the “you” that wants. All these parts of you are needed in your relationship, and the only way to share them is to first slow down and know them.
And that really is my encouragement to you this week…
Take the time to know what you feel and what you need before you expect someone else to understand it.
Slow down and really check in with yourself so that you can do a better job in letting your partner in on all the parts of you that are in need of connection, support, and celebration.
Wishing you much “knowing” in your own partnership.
Yours,
-A