Day 1: Nothing Is More Important Than Relationships

The wonder and pain of relationships. . . the two sides of this double edged sword are mentioned in the first part of this chapter. And it's so true. We can discover some amazing things about life through the relationships we find ourselves falling into. We can also discover some of the darker sides of life through the relationships we find ourselves falling out of.

One of the illustrations in this chapter is the idea of being stranded at sea in a boat with flares, fresh water, food, and another person, and you have to get rid of one thing or the raft will sink before you get to land. The logical thing to get rid of is the water, of course (because you can fashion a bowl out of the empty cans from the food and use a flare to start a fire so you can boil water), but when you think about it, no person weighs as little as food rations, a jug of water, or a box of flares. So, someone has to go. Will it be you, or the other person? And who is the "other person?" Now that really adds an interesting aspect. How many of us would say, "Well, if it were this person, I would throw myself in to save them, but if it were this person then I would throw them overboard"?

I'm guilty of that attitude. I'm sure you are as well, dear reader. If you can't be honest with yourself, you might as well turn back now.

So then here's the real tough question: what if it were a stranger? What would be your policy for deciding who stays and who goes? Would you interview the person (assuming you had some time before the raft completely fell apart) and try to figure out who had more to live for? How would age play into who gets to stay and who gets to go? Or what about career? Would you throw yourself out of the boat for a single mother of three? But what if she revealed to you that she was also a heroin addict, and her children were busy getting money to pay for her addiction? Would you still let her live?

Just some things to ponder.

Jesus thought people were important, no matter what was going on in their lives. I'm looking forward to exploring the ideas in this book.

Point to Ponder: Place the highest value on relationships.
Remember that this means first our relationship with God and second our relationships with others. It is way easy to get so caught up with "life" that you forget about people, and I'm sure that's something that this book is going to discuss in many different ways. And this isn't just a suggestion; it's a commandment! See-

Verse to Remember: Mark 12:29-31 "'The most important [commandment],' answered Jesus, 'Is this: . . . "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." The second is this: "Love your neighbor as yourself."'"
Man. . . I feel like I've heard this before. . . hah. Really though, important things bear repeating, and there's such simple wisdom to be found. The God of love who created us wants us to love Him and those He created with everything we have. Why do we over-complicate it?

Question to Consider: Have I asked Jesus if what I'm doing is what's most important?
I don't know that I've really thought much about this particular question. I am still developing awareness of God in my everyday life. And I do know that I am so thankful for the group of people that He had prepared for me down here, waiting to take me in (though they didn't know it, and neither did I). It still amazes me how perfect His plans are: I'm nearly to the year mark, and so many changes have taken place in my life. And while I'm not going to go on and on about people right now (since I have the next 39 days to have opportunities to speak about specifics, I'm sure), I do feel so blessed for the many friendships that have been developing since my move to Florida.