Sunday, July 5, 2020
Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:
All our loves are first loves. — Susan Fromberg Schaeffer
When we fall in love with someone, it is a unique thing that comes from deep within us. Any relationship is the creation of two people who open themselves to each other and share themselves beyond the usual boundaries. That is the excitement of true love. Two people give each other the keys to their private world, just as we might share the key to our home, trusting that it will be used with care and respect. This intimacy isn’t usually instantaneous. It builds on experience together.
In an intimate relationship, we have the responsibility to be good stewards of the trust given to us. Looking at our partner’s role is always so much easier than looking at our own, but we need to resist that easy temptation. Our first questions should always be: Do I make it safe for my partner to be open with me? Do I witness my partner’s vulnerability as a trust that I do not abuse? Am I gentle and respectful with the key my partner gave me?
Today, I will be a good partner, honoring and guarding the trust I have been given.
Hazelden Foundation
My life and other sordid tales 