Season of Building Relationships
It is not good for man to be alone.
In the Genesis 2 account of the creation story, God made man (Adam) and soon thereafter said he aught not be alone. Eve was created thereafter. It's an intimate relationship in its purest form, and that's what God intended - for man and God to be walking together, enjoying paradise. That lasted...until it didn't. The principle and the human desire and need for relationships, however, continued into perpetuity. And this is what this season is about.
Prior to the end of 2017, I knew it was time to seek God's guidance on what I needed to focus on. For a moment I thought it would be hard to come by, but that was not the case. It came to be so clearly that what I needed to work on was relationships. Needless to say I needed to evaluate exactly what that meant and I think I have some idea...after all, it's about 9 months ago that this happened!
The first thing I realised is that I must work on my most important relationship in life - with God. It's not that this wasn't a focus before, it was a new way of making sure it remained a priority. One of the things I ended up doing was changing how I approached devotions. The original habit was to come home, watch TV, then have devotions before bed. The problem, one can imagine, is that I am very tired by this time and unable to concentrate. This wasn't good enough. The change, therefore, was to have my devotions when I got home, before any TV is turned on. I must say it works! I feel as though I am growing and learning and connecting more to God by this simple, yet crucial change in my attitude. As a reminder, I'm an owl, so the morning devotions are problematic...worse than when I'm falling asleep at nights. I recall very little.
The other thing I realised is that I have issues with relationships in general. It's not something I share often (to put it mildly) but I know some of the hang-ups and fears I have I needed to do away with. By self, this is an impossible feat. With Divine help, however, that's another story. This season, therefore, was for me to examine the root causes of these issues, recognise the areas I need to work on, and act! This has been the more challenging part of the journey, but it continues.
The idea of building relationships with others is one I needed to also clarify in my mind. There are so many - family, friends, co-workers, church members, those in need, etc. And these became the ones I know I needed to give attention to. I have much yet to do in this area, and perhaps this season, for that reason, will last beyond the usual year - who knows?! But I am up for the challenge.
By way of confession, I find myself wanting to in an exclusive relationship more and more with time. There are no prospects that I can think of, so it's not an easy truth to live with. What helps though is that I try to focus on other things and not too much on that. But that's sometimes easier said than done...
My other relationship which is just as important as that with others is with myself! I've long ago accepted that to have healthy relationships with God and with people, I need to have a good relationship with myself. It sounds weird, I know, but it's often not given as much attention as it should be. For so many years, I struggled with this. Though I've come a far way, I still am learning how to do it right.
To say that I have learnt much over the past months may be an understatement. I may have even temporarily forgotten some of what I've learnt and will need to revisit some of those messages that were so powerful. But this is a journey and the learning continues. I don't know how long this season will last, but I know for sure it's one I need to have always in the fore regardless of what I focus on next. After all, it's not good for man to be alone!
In the Genesis 2 account of the creation story, God made man (Adam) and soon thereafter said he aught not be alone. Eve was created thereafter. It's an intimate relationship in its purest form, and that's what God intended - for man and God to be walking together, enjoying paradise. That lasted...until it didn't. The principle and the human desire and need for relationships, however, continued into perpetuity. And this is what this season is about.
Prior to the end of 2017, I knew it was time to seek God's guidance on what I needed to focus on. For a moment I thought it would be hard to come by, but that was not the case. It came to be so clearly that what I needed to work on was relationships. Needless to say I needed to evaluate exactly what that meant and I think I have some idea...after all, it's about 9 months ago that this happened!
The first thing I realised is that I must work on my most important relationship in life - with God. It's not that this wasn't a focus before, it was a new way of making sure it remained a priority. One of the things I ended up doing was changing how I approached devotions. The original habit was to come home, watch TV, then have devotions before bed. The problem, one can imagine, is that I am very tired by this time and unable to concentrate. This wasn't good enough. The change, therefore, was to have my devotions when I got home, before any TV is turned on. I must say it works! I feel as though I am growing and learning and connecting more to God by this simple, yet crucial change in my attitude. As a reminder, I'm an owl, so the morning devotions are problematic...worse than when I'm falling asleep at nights. I recall very little.
The other thing I realised is that I have issues with relationships in general. It's not something I share often (to put it mildly) but I know some of the hang-ups and fears I have I needed to do away with. By self, this is an impossible feat. With Divine help, however, that's another story. This season, therefore, was for me to examine the root causes of these issues, recognise the areas I need to work on, and act! This has been the more challenging part of the journey, but it continues.
The idea of building relationships with others is one I needed to also clarify in my mind. There are so many - family, friends, co-workers, church members, those in need, etc. And these became the ones I know I needed to give attention to. I have much yet to do in this area, and perhaps this season, for that reason, will last beyond the usual year - who knows?! But I am up for the challenge.
By way of confession, I find myself wanting to in an exclusive relationship more and more with time. There are no prospects that I can think of, so it's not an easy truth to live with. What helps though is that I try to focus on other things and not too much on that. But that's sometimes easier said than done...
My other relationship which is just as important as that with others is with myself! I've long ago accepted that to have healthy relationships with God and with people, I need to have a good relationship with myself. It sounds weird, I know, but it's often not given as much attention as it should be. For so many years, I struggled with this. Though I've come a far way, I still am learning how to do it right.
To say that I have learnt much over the past months may be an understatement. I may have even temporarily forgotten some of what I've learnt and will need to revisit some of those messages that were so powerful. But this is a journey and the learning continues. I don't know how long this season will last, but I know for sure it's one I need to have always in the fore regardless of what I focus on next. After all, it's not good for man to be alone!
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