I Don’t Like:

• Conflict
• Pain
• Struggles
• Problems
• Suffering
• Emotions
• Unhappy conversations

So, when my wife starts discussing these topics, I quickly bail out of the conversation.

I do Like:

• Happy
• Fun
• Good
• Pleasurable
• Approving
• Lighthearted
• Humorous

And no negativity or criticism allowed conversations. I am a simple, happy man. I want everyone around me to be happy. Making people happy means they like me. And I like being liked!

After a recent relationship crisis my world got turned upside down. My happy-me, happy: life, strategy will no longer work. My wife strongly stated, “Either get involved in my life or set me free! I’m tired of shallow, simple conversations. I’m lonely. And all my friends know me better than my own husband. I want to enjoy deep, meaningful dialogue with my husband. Are you in or out?”

Prayer

Father, please help me. My Plan A is not working. As a child I thought if everyone was just happy, problems would disappear. Today, I see I missed something. Can you help me with emotions, connecting and deepening? My wife needs a more emotionally mature husband. And it’s time for me to work on emotional growth. Abba, Jesus, and Holy Spirit please help me and my wife. Amen.

Bible

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. – 1 Corinthians 13:11 (TPT)