Lent and Relationships #1: Appreciation
Our theme for Lent is about "coming to our senses" and one of the secondary foci is our relationships.The hustle and bustle of life easily leads us to focus on all the problems (from traffic, to load-shedding, corona virus, job (in)security and so much more) and the danger is that we miss one of the blessings that is right in front of us and, if we nurture and protect this blessing, it will outlast so many of the things flashing across our headlines.
What is this blessing? It is our relationships which are a great source of strength, stability, love, encouragement and purpose. Our marriages, parents, children and friends are one of the greatest blessings we can have. (Sadly, if we allow these relationships to become dysfunctional, they can become our greatest stress...)
When Adam is alone in the garden, God makes Eve. When Adam meets her for the first time, he bursts into enthusiastic (if not slightly corny) poetry.
English manages to reflect the same wordplay as Hebrew does (a man is "ish" and a woman is "ishah"). He recognises her as one like himself, as a partner and a soulmate. In this poem there is appreciation, relief at not being alone and absolute delight.
Sadly, after eating the fruit (their fall into sin) there is blame and dominance. "The woman you gave me brought me the fruit..."
Brokenness seeks to de-value our relationships. Unless we work at maintaining them, they will land up becoming unhealthy and even toxic.
What if we took time to "come to our senses" and appreciate our relationships and affirm their importance? Your challenge for today is to express delight, affirmation and appreciation to those in your life who support and inspire you. (Even if your expression of delight is a bit corny!)
| The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man." (Genesis2:23 ) |
