What Makes a Relationship Last?

By Heather Browne

“Live it together.” – Free Methodist Vision Frame

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:2–3).

I love relationships.

I love relating, learning and sharing. As a therapist, I have the perfect career for me.

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“Why do some relationships last forever?”

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But what helps a relationship last?

What have I learned from working with thousands of people?

Why do some relationships last forever?

It’s because of desire — a desire to celebrate the changes, the growths, the challenges and the victories. It’s based on a mutual desire and trust that together we can become all of who we are to be.

Together we are more than alone.

I bless you, and you bless me.

Refining One Another

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17).

There’s an invitation to refine one another and mirror back what we see to help one another expand and excel.

It’s the awareness that love and compassion are woven together through each of the years of sharing, and this very history makes each other richer in knowledge, memories, and compassionate support.

Devoted Friends

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity” (Proverbs 17:17).

People say we are blessed if we have a handful of deep, devoted friends over the span of our lifetime. Have you been blessed with devoted friends? Have you also been able to nurture a few of these precious gifts in kindred spirits?

Do you have friends who you might not see for years, and then when you finally do, it’s like all the years just fall away and suddenly you are 5 or 15 or 25 again running around together? Can you look within them, and do you see their inner child peeking out to find you (as if to say, “Yes, you are safe with me, and I am safe for you”)?

Are you able to see the empowered Spirit within them trying their best to love you and to be love in this life with you?

So what makes these precious friendships last?

It’s the belief that we are better together with one another by our sides than we could ever be alone. It’s also the fascination with watching our life and yours unfold. It’s a choice to stay.

The Beauty of Relationships

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up” (Ecclesiastes 4:9–10).

Beautiful relationships remind us of who we were, support us in who we are, and encourage us for who we are yet to be.

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“They require us to show up, to care and remember, to be accountable and playful. “

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They bring out our best, and they help us clean ourselves up when we are at our worst.

They encourage us to deeply hear and see. They require us to show up, to care and remember, to be accountable and playful. They encourage us to be the best we can be. And even beyond that, to be the best of what our dearest friend sees in us…

To be more than we are and better.

To be more loving and of more Spirit.

To see.

To hear.

To grow.

To care more deeply.

To know more fully.

To love richly.

To become love embodied.

To bear witness to the Holy Spirit within you and also to the Holy Spirit within me (2 Timothy 1:14).

To choose loving each other.

Tell them today how much you treasure them.

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