Connections

As I look back over my day, I am again reminded of how, we as people, are driven by the need to be connected to someone, something, some group that defines us and brings value to who we are.  We (for most of us) are hard wired to share our lives with other people.  Isn't that an awesome thing?!  Today I spent my whole day connecting to different people who define my circle in life.  I evaluate my life and I think, this is exactly how I imagined it would be....not how it will stay because I feel like we are constantly growing in life and changing or tweaking it as we move through different seasons of our lives...but the snap shot of today makes me smile!  I think how in the world can a person not want people in their lives to walk through life with, share life with...the ups and downs the laughing parts and the crying parts.  

I was at a very close friends wedding shower this morning and into the afternoon with several friends that I have traveled life with for years....it is comfortable to be with them...they are like family to me...then I was at my subdivisions summer kick off party with friends in our community that are like family to us and as I write this there are 8 kids in my back room laughing as they all watch a movie together.  I began to think...even from a young age we long to be a part of something whether it is your family, your friends, your work or church.........we all. need. people.  Sometimes in some of your circles you get hurt...but people are just that...people.    I heard somebody say in passing a while ago that they need to remind themselves constantly to extend mercy and grace to people around them and they do not do that by nature....I felt so sad for them...that they have gone through life keeping everyone at arms length because they were not able to extend mercy and grace...maybe they were not able to just accept people where they were at...maybe they were always pushing the people in their lives to perform more, be better, do more and missed all the really great stuff already in front of them or missed out on all of the really great people in their world who just loved them and just needed that to be reciprocated. Maybe people like that are always worried about being hurt so everyone gets pushed away if they they can find something wrong with everyone.  Kind of sad when all we really need as people, is other people (and Jesus of course :) It's always perplexing to me when I see people who are closed off from making friendships or having any sort of close relationships in their lives...they are missing out on so much joy!

So, I encourage you today, if you don't do this already, call anyone and everyone in your life right now and tell them that you appreciate them in your life, tell them how you value them....not how you want to change them or all the ways you think they should be doing stuff for you...tell them you appreciate them exactly how they are and how much you love that God connected you to them in your group (whatever group that is for you).  Because, truly, at the end of our lives nobody is thankful for all the stuff they've acquired or how many awards they've gotten but rather they are thankful for the many rich relationships they've shared in their lives and are thankful for those people who have made their lives richer!  That is the true meaning of life....isn't that what we were created for? Relationships.  With God and with others.