~Emotional Intimacy & Five Love Languages~
The #1 barrier to emotional intimacy between marital partners is pride. Ultimately pride is the act of putting yourself before someone else. Interestingly, most (if not all) sins can be attributed to the sin of pride, beginning with Lucifer's act of rebellion in the premortal existence. Other barries: fear, mistrust, anger, resentment.
10 Signs of Having Achieved Emotional Intimacy in a Relationship
Trust
How does YOUR spouse communicate his love for you? How do you communicate your love for him? People give (express) love differently. Consider that you might speak one language and your husband may be speaking another. Hence, the message of love isn't as clear as it could be. Below are the five love languages:
THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES (ie, ways of expressing love)
Words of affirmation (verbal expressions of appreciation)
Acts of service (DOING service for another. NOTE: Many men do things for
their wives out of love, such as gassing up the car, and that is their
way of showing love. We don't always get the message, though).
Physical touch (holding hands, kisses, backrubs, etc)
Gifts (tangible, physical expressions of love. Children will draw a
picture for their mother, for example.)
Quality time (Spending time with the person: outdoors, at an event, at
home, etc)
Some people have more than one primary love language, and most of us respond to all five to some degree. In marriage, knowing your partner's primary love language can really help keep the relationship going strong. But it can be difficult to speak that language if it is not your native love language. You might have to take really work at expressing your love to your mate if you both speak different love languages. But it is worth the effort when you see your relationship grow stronger.
A SPIRITUAL THOUGHT concerning the 5 Love Languages
Using the five languages described above, think of our Savior and how we
can use each of them to express our appreciation for Him:
Words of affirmation The act of praising Him with our words (prayer)
Acts of service The act of praising Him with our actions (service to
others)
Physical touch Think of Jesus and the Lepers. Or when He washed His
disciples' feet. He was emotionally invested, putting himself at their
level. Touch is a reminder of acceptance, a willingness to communicate
closely with another.
Gifts We can give him many gifts, but here are 2 examples: the gift of
faith, the gift of cherishing our bodies as temples wherein the spirit
may dwell.
Quality time Time spent in prayer, reading Scriptures, getting to know
Him. We say we want to be more like Jesus, but don't we need to KNOW Him
before we can become like Him?
Now... as many of you have mentioned at one point or another during this
devotional, the way our marriage is going is a direct reflection of OUR
relationship to OUR Savior. It isn't about our husband (remember: blame
puts us in the box). It is about how WE are doing spiritually.
This site updated 23 DECEMBER 2001
Willingness to take risks with your partner
Being authentic in the relationship
Unconditional love
Good listening, especially when it is most difficult
Thinking of your partner first
Having a fulfilling sexual relationship
Commitment to the relationship
Good communication, being honest even when you have to say things your
partner doesn't want to hear
The ability to know yourself