My sowing tree experience was not what I had planned. Jeff & I were soaked and muddy and ……
Here are 5 simple ways to Sow and Grow your relationships.
Welcome to Lovin My Daughter-in-law Podcast, where my mother in law, relationship expert and master certified coach, LeAnn Austin, will help you create more love and connection with your daughter-in-law and everyone else you care about.
Hey y’all, you’re listening to Lovin My Daughter-in-law, episode #89: Sow and Grow.
20 years ago, we planted 12 trees along our fence line. Now we had just moved into this home, and the boys were little, and we thought it would be so fun to plant and water and watch these trees grow together.
But then, a couple years ago, half of the trees went from evergreen to a light tan color, and they died. We had nice 15 foot coverage from the remaining healthy six trees, and then nothing but fence in that empty space. I tried planting some quick growing banana plants, but it just wasn’t the same as the beautiful full coverage of those evergreens.
Last week, Jeff and I were shopping at Costco, and they had these little trees for sale. We bought five to plant in that space where we planted the other trees over 20 years ago.
Sowing and growing trees is very similar to sowing and growing relationships. Whatever relationship you’re struggling with, maybe one with your daughter-in-law, or your sister-in-law, or your mother-in-law, or your kids, or your partner, whoever.
Here are five simple ways to create more fun and connection with the people you care about.
Number one; communicate. Talk, text, FaceTime, send letters, emails, whatever. Communication is the foundation of any healthy relationship. For example, with sowing our trees, we needed to get them in the ground quickly so they could start to grow. Both Jeff and I had different things going on, so we communicated how best to make this work.
Number two; strong relationships are a two way street. Find a balance that works for both of you. For the trees, Jeff dug the five big holes while I added fresh soil and planted them. We used each other’s strengths to get the job done.
Number three; forgive. Be willing to forgive and let go of past mistakes or conflicts. When we hold on to grudges, it hinders the relationship growth.
Number four; learn and grow. You can do this together and/or individually. Encouraging growth as we all evolve and change helps to strengthen relationships.
Part of my recent growth is to strengthen my physical muscles so that I can do a pull up. Jeff helped me find a personal trainer that we are both working with and individually getting stronger. Learning and growing in this way is challenging and fun to not only build our muscles, but also to grow our relationship. And a little side note here, it also makes digging holes and planting trees a lot easier.
Alright, number five; celebrate. Celebrate each other’s successes, no matter how small. Celebrating is such a fun and simple way to create more connection in our relationships.
For Jeff and I and this sowing tree experience, it started to rain a lot right in the middle. We were soaked and muddy, and we celebrated that the trees were planted and we didn’t have to water them. Find ways to celebrate with the people you love.
Well, there you have it. The five simple ways to create more fun and connection with the people you care about. Communicate. Give and take. Forgive. Learn and grow. And Celebrate.
My challenge to y’all, as you are sowing and growing a relationship, pick one of these five ways and start today.
Blaze Olamiday shares a beautiful quote: “Love is not something you sow and reap instantly, you have to watch it grow and become stronger.” Hmm, something to think about.
Have a good one, y’all. And here’s to sow, grow, and love. If this podcast resonates with you, share it with a friend and leave a review.
If you enjoy this podcast, check out LeAnn’s Lovin My Daughter-in-law Program where she coaches and teaches a variety of ways to have more fun and connection in our relationships.
LeAnn also shares the five secrets she uses to create a beautiful relationship with me and her other daughter in law. She’s the real deal. I highly recommend you check this out.
And if you want one easy question you can keep in your back pocket and use to increase the love you feel for your daughter-in-law today, go to leannaustin.com and get the one question.
