LOVE LANGUAGE #3: Receiving Gifts

Gifts are visual symbols of love, whether they are items you purchased or made, or are simply your own presence made available to your spouse. Gifts demonstrate that you care, and they represent the value of the relationship.

1. The value of a gift is in the eye of the beholder. Perhaps you didn’t especially value a gift you received. Consider the giver’s intent and reorient your thinking to value the love demonstrated by the giver.

2. Take Dr. Chapman’s advice and work up a list of gifts your spouse has especially appreciated in the past. Beyond that, seek more input from others who know his/her tastes. Now decide to give one token of love, however small, in line with those preferences each week for the next month.

3. Perhaps in your mind gifts and finances don’t mix well at present. Yet if gift giving is an investment in your most important “possession,” you can view it as a form of savings or security. Review your budget, and sacrificially give more to your spouse.

4. Are gifts your mate’s primary love language? Then you may need to give up your own priorities, at least temporarily. Think about a time in recent years when your spouse really wanted something – either a certain gift, or the gift of your presence – and you failed to come through. Consciously plan to make the tough choices the next time around.

5. Remember that the gift of yourself means more than just your physical presence. Attempt for one week to share at least one important event or feeling in your day. Seek the same from your spouse.

Taken from www.fivelovelanguages.com.