Having a love story with a happy ending does not happen by chance. It takes commitment and effort to achieve it. Without these two, a relationship can quickly end when trials arise.
On the other hand, no matter how complex the challenges are, a relationship can survive and even grow stronger if a couple keeps fighting together. Both partners should just keep the hope alive and not give up on their love.
If your relationship is on the rocks right now and you are afraid of losing it, here are some tips on how to stay hopeful. May these encourage you to remain full of hope, faith, and love.
1. Pray for your relationship regularly.
All relationships go through hard times. Sometimes, no matter how a couple tries to fight for their love, human limitations and circumstances may defeat them in the end. For this reason, if you hope to protect and strengthen your relationship, you need help from the author of love—and that is no other than God.
Regularly praying for your relationship will strengthen your faith in God—the ultimate source of hope. When you have strong faith, you cannot be overcome by fear or worries. You can keep calm knowing that His grace and protection cover your relationship.
2. Have a prayer time together.
Do not just pray for your relationship alone. It would be best if you and your partner will commit to pray together. Doing so will help both of you to be stronger spiritually, especially during times of temptations that may ruin your relationship.
Prayer does not give you the power to resist temptations or overcome obstacles. Instead, it connects you to the source of power—God. It reminds you to humble yourself before the Lord, acknowledge your weakness, and rely on Him by asking for wisdom to face troubles. Thus, your relationship will be stronger if both of you are drawing strength from God.
3. Study God’s Word with your partner.
Aside from praying together, make it also a habit to meditate on God’s Word together. The two of you should set a regular schedule for reading the Bible together and sharing your reflections. It does not have to be daily. You can do it at least once a week.
Do you know how the Bible can help you stay hopeful in your relationship? The Scripture contains numerous promises from the Lord that can remind you to keep trusting Him. Moreover, it has lessons and nuggets of wisdom that can help you improve your relationship and deal with problems.
4. Go to church together.
Regularly going to church together is also an excellent reminder to be hopeful in your relationship. Worshiping God together, listening to encouraging sermons, and fellowshipping with godly friends will inspire you to stay connected with God.
You can also encourage each other to join small groups and ministries to help each of you grow more spiritually. Spiritual maturity can help you take care of your relationship in the right way.
5. Remind yourself of your happy times as a couple.
No relationship is perfect, and it is normal to experience bad times as a couple. Sometimes, it would take more than a day of misunderstanding. Fights may go on for days, even weeks, or months. You may reach that moment when you do not know the reason for staying anymore.
Whenever tough times happen, remember being happy together. Have that desire to bring back that happiness and work together to achieve it. As long as you still love each other, it is not impossible to have happy moments again.
6. Hold on to your promises to each other.
Aside from reminding yourselves of your happy moments, you can also review your promises for each other. What are those? Did you promise to stay by each other’s side no matter what happens? Have you vowed to reach your dreams together?
It is not true that promises are meant to be broken. Instead, they are meant to give you hope whenever situations get discouraging. With determination and commitment, the two of you can still make your promises come true.
Also read: How to be Honest in a Relationship: 12 Ways
7. Focus on the positive traits of your partner.
No one is perfect, and that includes you and your partner. There could be times when the negative characteristics of your boyfriend/girlfriend make you doubt your love. Or maybe you are constantly fighting because of your differences, making you hopeless that your relationship can last.
Instead of looking at your partner’s flaws and failures, why not focus on the traits you like about him/her? Doing so will help improve how you see and treat the person. It will also encourage you to hope for better days with him/her.
8. Treat each other with grace.
Since nobody is imperfect, expect that both of you will commit mistakes from time to time. If you would deal every mistake with hatred, revenge, and even break up, indeed, no relationship would last. That is why there should always be an allowance of grace in your relationship.
Treating each other with grace means not seeing mistakes as the finality of the person or the relationship. There must be room for forgiveness and a second chance to allow growth in both of you.
9. Choose to forgive and forget mistakes.
In connection to no. 8, forgiveness is an essential factor in keeping a relationship. Grace involves forgiving the person and giving him/her another chance.
Moreover, forgiveness must be coupled with letting go of the past. To avoid hurting or fighting because of the same issue, the two of you should move forward, choosing to forget the mistakes. Forgetting means not bringing the issue up again and again.
Also read: How to Forgive Each Other in a Relationship: 12 Tips
10. Give your best to your relationship.
To be hopeful in your relationship means giving your best effort into it despite how challenging the situation is. You should not let disappointments and misunderstandings discourage you from being the best boyfriend/girlfriend that you can be.
Giving your best means passionately taking care of your partner, supporting him/her, being available whenever s/he needs help or someone to talk to, and avoiding behaviors that can harm your relationship.
11. Never make breakup an option.
To keep the hope in your relationship up, both of you should agree never to have a breakup as an option in resolving issues. It is a commitment that requires determination, patience, and perseverance.
It is typical for hurting couples to suggest breakup during fights impulsively. To avoid this, agree to give each other space before confronting an issue. Do not talk when the two of you are in heightened emotions.
Also read: How to Overcome Anger in a Relationship: 13 Ways
12. Set goals as a couple.
One of the best ways to keep hope alive is to have something to look forward to. Why not plan your future family together? Then, start setting goals as a couple. These goals and plans can remind you to keep holding on during discouraging times.
Some of the goals you can set are finishing your studies on time, securing jobs within a certain period, and saving money for your marriage and family start-up.
Do Not Give Up on Each Other
As long as there is hope, everything is possible. Yes, it is possible to keep your relationship long-lasting. You can also make it stronger and happier.
All you need to do is work together to resolve differences and problems. Then, through prayer, ask help from God to give you more endurance and strength to keep holding on.
Also read: How to be Positive in a Relationship: 10 Simple Ways
