Boundaries in Relationships

by guest blogger, Lindsay Morris

If there’s anything 30 has taught me, it’s to guard my heart.

Now happily married, I look back on my 20’s and realize the many times I did not have well-defined boundaries in my relationships with the opposite sex. I wonder how many tears and how much heartache could have been saved if I had been better at guarding my heart.
We’ve all heard quote from Alfred Lord Tennyson, “’Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all,” tossed about like it’s Scriptural. Yes, love is important. And it’s nearly impossible to avoid love and romance during your 20’s. I started off my 20’s strong in this area. I was a focused, independent college student, not the least bit interested in dating anyone. But after graduation, when things weren’t quite as busy, I allowed myself to be wooed time and time again by guys who … well, just weren’t right for me. And pieces of my heart were dispensed to these suitors like M&Ms at a movie theater.
Fortunately, God had a better plan for me than I could have ever imagined, and marrying Devon nearly four years ago was one of the best choices of my 20’s. But just remember, when you get ready to marry whoever that special person is, both you and he/she will have to unpack every relationship you’ve had … at least to some degree … and sometimes that’s not pretty.

Lesson learned: “Above all else guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23