Communication; it plays  such a vital role in any successful relationship. Whether it be between a husband and a wife,  a parent and a child,  a friend and a friend, or even between us and God, communication is the piece that keeps the relationship healthy.

People have often been surprised at how close I am with my parents and siblings, but I promise you, we are no where near perfect, or the “ideal” family. We have had many struggles, obstacles, and bumps along the journey of our life together. But one of the key things that has kept us together and close-knit is the commitment we have made to communication.

Dictionary.com defines the word communicate as:

If a relationship were a plant, communication would be the water. You can nourish a plant into the most beautiful, and strong state it can be in, but if you stop watering it, it will die. The same goes for any relationship. You can get into the strongest, most intimate state in a relationship, but if you cut off communication, it will begin to die. You can never get to a place in a relationship where communication is no longer needed.

That is why we need to make a commitment to communicate in our relationships. In a marriage, set aside time to TALK to one another, see how your spouse is doing, get to KNOW one another better. For parents and children: Parents, take the initiative. Ask your kids questions about their day, ask how they are doing, tell them you love them, etc…just open the door for communication.  Kids, do the same. Tell your parents you love them, thank them for something they have done for you, tell them how much you appreciate them, if you have a question, ask it.

Just like communication is key to any successful relationship with a spouse, child, parent or friend, it is also key to a successful relationship with our heavenly Father. How can we expect to know God if we don’t allow him to speak to us. The two means we have for communicating with God our through reading the bible, and through prayer. Though God knows us inside and out, we still need to talk to (pray) God about our needs as well. I can think of no other person who showed us a better example of this need than Jesus Christ. He was the Son of God, God in the flesh; why then did he spend so much time praying to God? He stayed in constant communion with Him. If Jesus needed to pray to God so much, then you better believe we need to as well.

I strongly encourage all of you to take a long look at all of your relationships. Make sure there is a healthy amount of communication between them. If there isn’t, it’s not too late. Open the door by getting to know the person better. Look at your relationship with God, set aside time to read the bible yourself, and to pray to God. Make a commitment to communicate.

So…How do you feel about this? Has this inspired you to make any shifts or changes in your life?  I’d love to hear from you!  And don’t forget to take a quick moment to share this post on Facebook or Twitter if you got a lot of value out of it!

Thank you so much!

In God’s Love and Grace,