Real Life Marriage: Communication Is a Two-Way Street.

"I thought I told you," he said.

"I don't think you did," I replied. "Or maybe I didn't hear you." 

I'd been coming and going from place to place. Appliances just added noise to the fracas that sometimes is my life. Was my lack of knowledge his fault or mine? In the end, I realized that it really didn't matter. Maybe he had said something. Maybe he hadn't. In either case, I hadn't heard. Communication is a two way street, and if both sides are going, there is no exchange of information.

There are all sorts of reasons for miscommunication. Sometimes it is failing to speak. Sometimes it is failing to hear. Sometimes I say words, but do not say what I mean. Sometimes I hear words, but do not interpret them correctly. Clear communication requires effort, effort on behalf of both the sender and the receiver. Failure on either part means failed communication, and failure for both.

My husband and I are still working on our communication. I have a feelings it will always be a work in progress. By God's grace, we'll make progress, and Lord willing, instead of assuming something about communication in our next exchange, we'll actually communicate.