This post is a part of The 15-Day Relationship Challenge. If you’re just now tuning in, click here for the whole series.
MORNING
Hello. A Walk Down Memory Lane.
Hi. Hey. What’s up. Hello.
These are are words of welcome. Of invitation to be here. The word “hello” lets those who hear it know they are welcome and you are open, available, and intent on listening to what is about to be said.
Your mom or dad probably said something like this to you when you were born. Maybe it was with a look, a touch, or with those very words. Perhaps the doctor or nurse was the one who greeted you to this world. Regardless, someone in that room welcomed you to life.
And then you probably screamed. Understandable. Perhaps the most blameless action any of us have ever taken!
Somehow you knew (the experiential kind of knowing) this new reality wasn’t what you used to have. It was colder, louder, brighter, and much harsher than your previous dwelling. Like Adam & Eve before us, we’re all trying to get back in to that peaceful, warm, and safer place from where we came.
Hello is also something you said to your husband, or wife, when you first met. It’s amazing how an inflection of certain letters in that word can change the meaning. Maybe the best form of Hello brings with it the phrase, “oh yeah, I like what I see and feel.” At some point that hello turned into let’s go. And at the beginning, going anywhere together was better than going somewhere on your own.
Before we get to the hello and let’s go of your relationship, it’s good to take a trip down memory lane. The memory lane about you. Because you are partly responsible for why your relationship exists (yep, even the not-so good parts of the relationship). The next several days will be about where you come from, and how you’ve become who you have become.
Knowing you, your story, your hopes and dreams helps to set the context for what you’re looking for in your relationship (and the same is true for your spouse as well). The phrase “what you don’t know can’t hurt you” couldn’t be more wrong. What you don’t know might be the very reason you feel what you feel in your life, and relationship.
Reflection Questions:
- What did I notice about me in reading today’s material?
- What feelings, thoughts, questions, or stories that came to mind?
- Who has been the most welcoming person in my life? Why?
- Who have I welcomed the most into my life? Why?
Assignment:
Practice the gift of welcoming someone today. When you get home later today, offer welcome to your family.
EVENING
Hello! Welcome back. Good to see you again. How was your day?
This first day of the challenge is a great foundation for what is to come. Feeling welcomed is a gift, one we need ourselves, and one others need from us. I hope you practiced that today.
Take 10-15 minutes tonight with your spouse to talk through your day.
- What were the highs and lows?
- Where were you surprised?
- Was there anything different about your day because of the assignment(s)?
As you look ahead to these next two weeks of growth together, answer these questions:
- What am I excited about?
- What am I afraid about?
- What do I want to see grow in me as a person?
- What do I hope for out of this process?
Assignment Connection
Tell each other the story of who you gave the gift of Welcome to today.
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