I make dinner and he does the dishes. He loves watching television in the evenings, and I read my book in the same room just so we can be together. We hate each other’s driving but love to take walks together. Forty years into our marriage and my husband and I still enjoy each other’s company. He’s not my best friend, and I’m okay with that.

In the early years of our marriage, my expectations were high. I wanted my husband not only to love, honor and cherish me—I wanted him to be my whole support system as well. But as special as our relationship was, my husband alone could not meet all my needs.

Do you ever expect too much from your relationships?

Perhaps you have a picture in your mind of what a perfect relationship should look like, only it doesn’t turn out like you thought it would. Maybe you expected your best friend to be by your side forever, but you fell out of touch after she moved away. Maybe you put all your trust in your community of church friends—so when you heard a rumor about you, you felt rejected. Or maybe the sibling you always trusted has betrayed your confidence by revealing one of your secrets. People fail us. They disappoint us.

My life became much richer when I allowed myself to remember that no one is perfect. My relationship with my husband is special in many ways, but I found that I needed to exercise forgiveness and grace with him—and with my friends, family and church as well.

No one human or group of people can fulfill all our needs. When we expect too much of the people around us—when we glorify them and inevitably are disappointed by them—God asks us to remember that our hope is in him. He can fill any void. God is faithful when people fail us.

If you are looking for that perfect relationship, you can look to the one who is enough for all. Reflect on God’s perfect love for you as you meditate on these 4 verses:

Psalm 34:8 (GNTD)

Find out for yourself how good the Lord is. Happy are those who find safety with him.

Ephesians 2:4-6 (GNTD)

But God’s mercy is so abundant, and his love for us is so great, that while we were spiritually dead in our disobedience he brought us to life with Christ. It is by God’s grace that you have been saved.

2 Corinthians 12:9 (GNTD)

But his answer was: “My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak.” I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of Christ’s power over me.

Deuteronomy 31:8 (GNTD)

“The Lord himself will lead you and be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you, so do not lose courage or be afraid.”