Faith Heart Magazine Faith Heart Magazine: Volume 4 | Page 15

3 Signs Your Relationship Is Stagnant or Worse B Y M A R Y W H I T M A N O R T I Z Mary Whitman-Ortiz, MA, CLC is a Dating & Relationship Coach helping women joyfully navigate the intricacies of being known and loved, so they can create soul-satisfying relationships. She partners with women around the world to see themselves as their heavenly Father does, with eyes of love. Her transformative coaching, interactive conference presentations, and life-application articles communicate reflection, truth, and divine acceptance. Divorced after a 26-year marriage and propelled to re-establish her entire identity, she is now happily remarried in a godly, passionate, and fun relationship. She uses her painful past to encourage others towards God’s abundant promises. She can show you how to successfully create, sustain, and grow your relationships because she’s done it herself. We were created for RELATIONSHIP. It’s in our DNA to be known and loved, by God’s design for us. Relationship affects EVERY area of your life, from a casual EXCHANGE at the grocery check-out, to important CONVERSATIONS with your children’s teachers, and ultimately, with intimate CONNECTIONS that are based on vulnerability and trust. Sometimes relationships feel like something is just ‘off’ or there is a missing piece. Other times there is deep and almost debilitating HURT. The wounds are so powerful they shut you down and CHANGE the course of your life…forever. Do you want to get it together before a potential PROBLEM begins or increases? What areas of pain are in your life right now? Emotional DISTANCE, lack of connection, or awkward and uncomfortable settings where you don’t click, and may even be prompted to pull away. Unpleasant COMMUNICATION filled with surface or social talk (only), negative words and belittling tones, or a downward spiral of accusations and intentionally harmful arguments. Substitutes for relational INTERACTION from ‘good busyness’, to choosing distractions because you’re in denial, or finally succumbing to addictive behaviors that attempt to fill a void. These scenarios can play out in a million ways, but what’s at the core? How to SOLVE THE PROBLEM? Let’s start where we have the most power. Who are YOU? FAITH HEART MAGAZINE l 11