Attending school is assuming a posture of humility – freely admitting we don’t know everything and that we’re willing to learn. And while perhaps we understand the need to be a student academically and professionally, we often forget this relationally. But there’s a place to attend relationship school as well. And this is simply a sign of growth and maturity, not that we’re inherently flawed or otherwise broken.
To be sure, professionals of all sorts hire coaches to help them reach the top of their game. Even with a natural gifting there remains much benefit in learning from others and receiving trusted feedback. And no one thinks any less of a professional for hiring this outside help.
Ideally, we take this same approach with our relationships. While we’re naturally relational beings, this doesn’t mean there’s no benefit from having a relationship coach or going to relationship school.
Whether we’re meeting with a mentor, coach, therapist, or the like, it’s good to have trusted others regularly speak into our life and relationships. Likewise, part of relationship school is simply the intentionality to continue learning. For instance, this might be reading a book, listening to a podcast, or attending a class. Whatever it looks like, we’re humbly taking the posture of a student and opening ourselves up to learn something new.
All too often, we only seek relational help when there’s a problem. And certainly it’s good to pursue it then. But this keeps us merely reactive and never truly growing into our potential. We’re often just treating symptoms.
On the other hand, enrolling in relationship school is proactive and preventative. We will still have normal challenges to navigate, but we would also be better equipped to deal with them. And we’re less likely to miss out on God’s best because we’re actively seeking to grow.
In the end, relationships are natural, and yet there remains plenty to learn. Enroll in the school of relationships and continue discovering God’s best for all your connections.
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash
