A Trip To The Candy Shop 2/14/2016

Good Morning,

I am glad to be alive today and drinking a cup of Door County Cherry Crème Coffee. We have a great day planned, which mostly consists of spending time together in a couple antique shops and one mustard shop. I am all out of the specialty mustards I use to cook with.

Today is Valentines Day. And like a lot of people will do I also want my wife to know how special she is to me. Rene is diabetic and most sweet treats are a no go. Tucked away in a little city is a specialty candy shop. When they first started making a few limited styles of sugar free candy a long time ago, I stopped in and brought home a small heart shaped box with some samples. Rene had tears in her eyes and they weren't the happy kind. "I can't believe you would be so mean as to bring chocolates to a diabetic. Are you angry with me"? I forgot to explain that they were sugar free and I just wanted her to try a couple to see if they were worth purchasing anymore. The laugh was on both of us. The chocolates were great and I have been stopping there occasionally to bring her a sweet treat ever since. I tried being cheap and told her that a kiss from me is all the sugar she needs. That one still makes me laugh out loud. And I am still buying chocolates.

But the story here is not about chocolates and our love for one another. We failed to communicate. I did not immediately supply all the details and Rene assumed the worst. Now in her defense assuming the worst with me is easy to do. I am not always the brightest bulb in the package and not always planning ahead for gifts. I also assumed that she should have known that I would never be that silly. I also assumed that she should have known the chocolates were sugar free.

I remember that day Like it was yesterday. It all worked out just fine and I was the hero. But what was to be a nice surprise was taking an ugly turn by making assumptions and not communicating. Many relationships fail due to lack of effective and positive communication. I think if we were all to make a point of effectively communicating in our daily interactions with each other, relationships would be more secure. If we effectively communicated our love for one another not only in actions and deeds, but also in words, our relationships would suffer less.

Good communication between people is of great importance in our society today. God’s word gives us great insights into how we should speak to and treat one another, and as Christians we should seek to be a blessing to everyone that we come into contact with. Our words are a reflection of what is in our hearts, so we should constantly be filling our hearts and minds with what is best. The apostle Paul encourages us in this way, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8) we follow God’s word, then our communication and relationships with others will not only improve but we will have favor and be blessed.

Have a great day!

Marty