Your Word Is Your Bond Rings True in Relationships Too
by Teresa Marita McGuire
How many times has your lover told you something that he or she failed to deliver? Is there no follow through on even the most simple things like showing up for a date, or taking out the trash as promised? Even when he or she knows how important the promise is to you.
Words without action can kill a relationship. It can cost you to lose respect for the one you love, and eventually cost you your marriage. I encourage us all to commit to our words and deeply listen when we are called on our shortcomings. Your mate will be delighted when you keep your promise and your relationship will grow with honesty and trust.
Your word is your bond. I hear such joy in my friend’s voice when she talks about her new boyfriend who “calls when he says he’s going to call.” And if he’s running late he calls soon after the intended time and apologizes even though she understands and doesn’t think it’s necessary.
On the flip side, I hear disappointment and hurt in a dear friend’s voice because her boyfriend continues to say one thing and sometimes do the opposite, seemingly oblivious to her expressions of how it makes her feel.
Disappointment and hurt can be minimized as couples make the effort to complete what they promise. Better yet, think long and hard before you say you are going to do anything because it is unacceptable to shrug it off when you let someone down. I don’t remember the first time my ex-husband broke a promise to me, but I remember the day he nonchalantly came home hours late to take me out for my birthday. He didn’t understand why I was bothered because he didn’t call to say our plans were changing. All he said when he walked through the door was “I’ll make it up to you.”
That became the famous line I would hear when his word was not his bond. That line was never fulfilled, just as his original words became void. After a while, it becomes clear that a person with empty words lacks the substance to sustain a healthy and loving relationship. When we peel back the layers and think rationally, we realize what may have been obvious all along. So, let’s commit to keeping our word once it is given and to valuing those we love. Don’t stop communicating with honest commitment to the one you love.
Teresa Marita McGuire was born to write. She grew up in Memphis, Tennessee writing birthday cards for family and poetry for her favorite baseball team, the St. Louis Cardinals. She embraced writing as a gift when her 5th-grade book about a “fuzzy wuzzy” mouse was displayed in the school library. Teresa fell in love with poetry after the Cardinals responded to her poems by sending glossy team photos.
She received a B. A. in Journalism from the University of Memphis and became an intern at the city’s morning daily. A former media representative at her alma mater, Teresa is the self-published author of My Soul Speaks Poems about Love, a book of inspirational poetry sprinkled with magical, honest and fun love stories that make hearts twirl. She is a professional school counselor who writes from the heart to remind men and women that real love does exist.
