6 a.m. Conversations

Let’s start this week with a hard fact: If you want your relationship to last, gratitude can’t be optional.

We love to talk about love; the butterflies, the chemistry, the spark, the “they’re my person” feeling. And all that is good. Beautiful, even.

But let me tell you from a man who’s lived a little: Love is the engine. Gratitude is the oil.

You can ride for a while without it but eventually that engine will shut down.

See, people don’t walk away because the love disappeared. They walk away because they stopped feeling valued.

A lack of gratitude makes little cracks that turn into big distances:

• You stop recognizing their effort, they stop offering it
• You stop noticing the small things, they stop sharing them
• You stop saying “thank you” they start feeling invisible

And once someone feels invisible, the relationship is already in trouble.

Gratitude is not weakness. Gratitude is awareness. Gratitude is responsibility.

It’s saying, “I still see you. I still appreciate you. I don’t take you for granted.”  And sometimes, that simple acknowledgment is the difference between love growing or slowly fading.

Let me be real on this. You can’t treat your partner like part of the furniture and expect the relationship to feel like a home. Appreciation is how you keep the air warm.

Because at the end of the day, it’s not the special occasions that hold couples together. It’s the everyday moments. The ones that go unnoticed until they’re gone.

When you’ve loved and lost, you learn to appreciate differently. You learn that consistency is gold. You learn that effort is beautiful. You learn that a “thank you” can carry more weight than a paragraph. And you learn that love grows where gratitude lives.

So today, start with the little things: Say “thank you.” Say “I see what you did.”
Say “I appreciate you.” Say it often. Say it sincerely. Say it even when it feels small, especially then.

Every great relationship has one thing in common. Both people feel valued. Not sometimes. Not when convenient. Daily.

Imagine your partner suddenly stopped doing one small thing they’ve always done. The morning text, the quick check in, the way they fix your plate, the soft touch on your back, the random encouragement, the quiet way they handle something for you.

Would you notice? Would you miss it? Ask yourself, what is one small act of love your partner does regularly that deserves a genuine ‘thank you’ today?

Sometimes the wake up call isn’t the loss, it’s the realization that the gratitude wasn’t there when it mattered.

Loving by HIS Word–“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Gratitude isn’t a suggestion, it’s protection. It keeps hearts soft, spirits open and love grounded in grace.

6 a.m. Quote–Love might be the reason you start together but gratitude is the reason you stay together.

Marlon Dean–6 a.m. Conversations “Where love meets faith, one morning at a time”