We live in a fast paced society. I think that goes without saying.
Over a hundred years ago, our culture was influenced greatly by farmers and ranchers. Life was slower.
There were seasons for planting, growing and harvesting.
Life wasn't rushed (at least in comparison to today's standards)
Today, everything is so fast. Words like "over-nite, "drive-thru" and "log-ong" have entered our vocabulary.
We all get impatient from time to time.
But there is one thing in life that refuses to be rushed. Our relationships with one another.
Relationships take time.
Let's use the analogy of growing a crop.
There has to be a season of planting - finding common interests.
Then there is a season of growing - you begin to appreciate each other's differences and similarities by spending time with one another
Then there is the harvest - where the friendship proves to be a source of strength and encouragement to each other.
We all want meaningful friendships.
Take time today to do just that.
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Relationships are the most important things in our lives. The highest one, for most of us, is our relationship with God and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. God loves us and wants us to be part of His family and part of His kingdom...He has gone out of His way to ensure we have a way to do that but it takes work on our part.
The second (in priority) relationship is my spouse. She was delivered to me (no, she wasn't mail order, she was God directed!) to walk with me through life and make me a wonderful helpmate. I am so blessed to be able to say that she is all of that (my love, my companion, my friend, my helper, my counselor, my accounter, my...the list goes on and on) and the proverbial bag of chips in the language of just a few years ago.
Third is my relationship with my children as I try to raise them up to be Godly men in an unGodly world. The emulate what they see modeled, not what I say...that's an eye-opener for me because I often see myself in some behavior of theirs that I don't like. So I have to change in order to effect a positive change in them. My relationship to them has been wonderful to this point and I pray that it always will be...the time I spend with them can never be taken away from me and the love that we share is a very strong bond between us.
Fourth is my relationship with my Christian brothers and sisters. As the body of Christ, we have an obligation to move in unity and love with each other. We do that through relationship with each other. There are times when we don't understand each other, or what we are doing, but we spend time together working those things out and it makes our relationship even better.
Fifth are my relationships at work (yes, some of them overlap in other categories above but I take the higher level as the deciding factor) with those who I work for, with, and with those who work for me. I consider myself their servant at each and every level; I've even shared with my workers how much more important to this organization they are than I am. I am here to make sure that they are taken care of, that we have a good relationship (both work and interpersonal), and that the job gets done...not always in that order but usually.
Lastly, there is my relationship with the remainder of those around me, who I come in contact with daily, but whom don't fit in any category above. I am to reach out to them in love and respect, helping them in having a better day and showing, through my conduct and love, the pure light of God who loves them. We need to develop relationships with those out there that don't know God, who haven't heard (or who have failed to accept) the Good News, so that they can see that God loves them no less than He loves us. By our acts will God's love for man be demonstrated...words are abstract, actions are viable and touchable. These are the relationships that need our vision, our time, our joy in the Lord, our love...make it so today.
Boy, did I just ramble on...sorry for the length but I hope you got something from it. Give me a holler (phone call, e-mail, response, etc.) and let's start a relationship today.
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