10 TRAITS OF HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS

by Roy Todd

Our heart at the Junction Church in Leicester & Loughborough is to create a community where great friendships are formed and people do life together. Somebody once said, ‘show me your friends and I’ll show you your future’. Truth is, life is all about how you interact with the people in your world. Healthy relationships are a rich blessing in whatever season you’re going through. So what are the factors that help create them? Here are ten which I think are really important:

1) FUN

There’s a proverb which says ‘laughter is like medicine to the soul‘. Laughing breaks down barriers, helps put life in perspective, lifts hearts and keeps you sane. It’s a vital ingredient for any healthy relationship.

2) LOW MAINTENANCE

High maintenance relationships are an emotional drain which eventually become a hindrance rather than a help. Healthy relationships are always aided by reasonable & well managed expectations. Read a blog I’ve written on this HERE.

3) UNPRESSURED

Relationships which are forced rarely last. So chill out and stop trying to MAKE them happen. When unnecessary pressure is removed, that’s when relationships can thrive.

4) HONOURABLE

Healthy relationships are bathed in honour. They celebrate each other and never jump on each other’s weaknesses.

5) UNSELFISH

A wealthy friend of mine has lots of people who want to be his friend because of what they might get out of him. But nothing does more damage to a relationship than a selfish agenda. People WILL eventually see through it! Healthy relationships are selfless – more about giving than taking.

6) LOYALTY

John Ortberg wrote ‘Everybody’s normal till you get to know them’. Healthy relationships are created by remaining loyal through the quirks, blunders and mistakes of the other person.

7) PATIENCE

Spend enough time with someone and eventually you’ll find something about that person which gets on your nerves! But patience really is the virtue of a healthy relationship. Grace covers all the flaws, yours too!

8) PURPOSE

A common purpose forges people together. That’s why church is really great for creating healthy relationships. Here, we live for a cause that is bigger than ourselves.

9) UNPRETENTIOUS

Nobody is THAT good all the time. Everyone has weaknesses, pain & challenging stuff they’re journeying through in life. A healthy relationship doesn’t pretend like everything’s always ok. It’s vulnerable about the tough stuff too, but not in a whining, whinging, nauseating kind of way.

10) FAITH-BUILDING

A healthy relationship will always draw you closer to God and HIS house, not away from them. No-matter what is happening in life, there’s a vibe of faith in a healthy relationship which always believes for the BEST.

CHECK OUT OUR RELATIONSHIPS COURSE HERE