Marriage, Family & Friends: Is COVID-19 Killing Relationships?
2020 by itself has been a trip.
Now throw COVID-19 in on top of 2020 and one could make a strong argument that 2020 has been one of the most challenging years in recent history. Like many families, COVID-19 hit our doorstep resulting in us and our oldest son testing positive. That led to quarantines for us all, warning calls made to close friends and loved ones and cancellations of previously scheduled appointments. Such a huge inconvenience!
COVID-19 caused us to postpone a planned milestone birthday party for our youngest son; cancel an annual Christmas Eve gathering and our 2020 New Year’s Eve celebration and; extend timelines to complete home improvement projects.
What’s more is that all this has caused us to sleep in separate rooms for WEEKS — a situation we are only familiar with when we’re at odds (and yes we go to bed at odds)
But this is different – COVID-19 has been quite disruptive to our marriage, family and friend relationships.
We’ve heard countless stories of couples whose relationship (marriage and/or dating) have become strained due to COVID-19 and having to be confined to the same space. Single folks with a desire to date and who crave social interaction, now forced to meet those needs in ways that are unfamiliar or less comfortable. It cannot be understated how valuable it is to physically interact with someone where you benefit from both their verbal and non-verbal language. Just the same, it cannot be understated how valuable it is to have an outlet where you can grab alone time and be away from others. But COVID-19 has cut off those options resulting in strained relationships.
So the question we want to ask is “What are you doing to navigate through and prevent the strain on your relationships?” A couple of things come to mind and some things we have adopted to weather this COVID-19 storm:
- Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. All of this sucks we know. It’s not the ideal situation but it’s your opportunity to embrace the unknown by challenging yourself to step out of your comfort zone. Thomas Jefferson said, “If you want something you’ve never had, you must do something you’ve never done.” We guarantee, you will learn something new and exciting about yourself (if you haven’t already).
- Stay Connected & Communicate. Make sure you are keeping in touch with loved ones and friends. Challenge yourself to be transparent about how COVID-19 makes you feel and check in with others to gauge how they are coping. COVID-19 will not last always so talk with others about the next vacation, the next business venture, the next goals to be achieved. Seek a counselor to ensure you have an objective third party as an emotional outlet. We both have them and they are a great resource to help navigate through thoughts and feelings. Side note – your spouse or significant other is not your therapist.
- Find something to do. Now is the perfect time to explore a hobby that you otherwise wouldn’t have time to pursue. It’s a great way to divert attention away from all the stress COVID-19 has been dishing out. Taking up a hobby opens up to doors to a new body of knowledge, a new community of like-minded people and offers a sense of accomplishment.
Romans 12:10 calls us to “Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” NLT
Take-away’s:
- Do not allow COVID-19 to destroy your God purposed relationships.
- Do not lose sight that God designed us to be in relationship with one another.
- Now is not the time to abandon your efforts to strengthen your existing relationships or establish those you desire to have.
Be sure to leave us a comment and share your perspective!
- How has COVID-19 impacted your relationships?
- What are some of the things you have done to preserve and strengthen your existing relationships during this COVID-19 era?
- Has COVID-19 increased or decreased the value you place on relationships?