Communication is the key.

Before Jim and I got married, we tried to address the things that we found were problematic in our former marriages: lack of communication and how we looked at money were two of the big things for us. I see money as a form of security, but not to the point that I used to in the past. Because of the conversations that Jim and I have had, I have learned to put more faith in the Lord providing what we need (contrary to what we want), because he has always come through for us in that way. Watching the stock market strip our retirement funds has been hard. With all the medical bills that we have had over the last 2 years, we do not have a safety net. We try to be careful with our money. Jim has a private practice and with that he has to spend money to make money: equiptment needing replaced, mass mailings, and advertising costs. We are making it payday to payday like so many people, but there are so many more who are not making it. I get to see this at the Mission where I am a volunter intern. What I am really excited about it how Jim and I pull together on everything that comes up, so to me it is the communication aspect that is the most important part of our relationship that makes everything else work. When that improves, anything else becomes a possibility. As a therapist, teaching people how to communicate with each other and understand where that other person is coming from will be the most important and valuable comodity I can give to my patients/clients.