"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10:10 NKJV
When I was about 8 years old I went around my neighborhood with homemade invitations inviting all my neighborhood friends to a party. I was so excited to have all my friends over for this random event that I made up all on my own. I remember my mom asking what I was doing. Of course I hadn't run it by her first. Twenty-eight years later and not much has changed. I thrive on having people over. I love gathering together with others. It is the heart-beat of my life. I love connections, enjoying a meal around the table, and just being with others.
I have had a few life-giving moments lately and it got me to thinking. We all have those relationships that suck us dry. Like the thief who comes to steal and destroy, we have relationships that rob us of an abundant life. It happens. If you are going to go into a relationship with others, you will experience mess, confusion, tension, and energy-sucking moments. We are all human. I am not talking about those friendships. I want to enhance life-giving relationships in my life. I want to walk away and feel energized. I want to be the friend that breaths life into another; especially when they feel completely deflated.
Jesus says that He has come to give us life. He isn't talking about boring, everyday, errand running life. He wants to bless us with abundance. I want to be that to others. I want them to leave my presence and feel like they are overflowing with love. I want them to feel valued and like they matter. Because they do matter.
I don't want people to leave my presence and feel tired and worn out. I don't want them to roll their eyes and think that it is one more drama-filled day with me. I want people to desire a relationship with me not because I am so cool (lol) but because His life-giving abundance is pouring from my heart into their lives.
I am not talking perfection. Quite the contrary. Being someone who gives life to a relationship, to me, means giving when it is really really difficult, loving when things get dirty, and giving grace upon grace when necessary. Life-giving relationships do not come without boundaries. Boundaries in relationships are healthy and good for the soul. Not everyone can maneuver in a relationship with boundaries, nor can they understand that boundaries are a part of giving grace, but, they are necessary. Otherwise, you become sucked dry and cannot feed the friendship with the abundant life Jesus wants us to experience.
Sometimes, you have to walk away from a relationship that sucks you dry. I had to learn that that is okay. Sometimes, it's better and far healthier to love and give life from afar. However, I want to be the person that people don't want to walk away from. I want them to come to me and experience a love so deep and realize they have value with me, with Jesus, so wide within their soul that they experience a little piece of heaven here on earth. I want them to feel, see, taste, touch, and smell Jesus in our friendship.
My prayer for you, for me, is that we experience life-giving friendships that go beyond the ordinary and into the extraordinary.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
When I was about 8 years old I went around my neighborhood with homemade invitations inviting all my neighborhood friends to a party. I was so excited to have all my friends over for this random event that I made up all on my own. I remember my mom asking what I was doing. Of course I hadn't run it by her first. Twenty-eight years later and not much has changed. I thrive on having people over. I love gathering together with others. It is the heart-beat of my life. I love connections, enjoying a meal around the table, and just being with others.
I have had a few life-giving moments lately and it got me to thinking. We all have those relationships that suck us dry. Like the thief who comes to steal and destroy, we have relationships that rob us of an abundant life. It happens. If you are going to go into a relationship with others, you will experience mess, confusion, tension, and energy-sucking moments. We are all human. I am not talking about those friendships. I want to enhance life-giving relationships in my life. I want to walk away and feel energized. I want to be the friend that breaths life into another; especially when they feel completely deflated.
Jesus says that He has come to give us life. He isn't talking about boring, everyday, errand running life. He wants to bless us with abundance. I want to be that to others. I want them to leave my presence and feel like they are overflowing with love. I want them to feel valued and like they matter. Because they do matter.
I don't want people to leave my presence and feel tired and worn out. I don't want them to roll their eyes and think that it is one more drama-filled day with me. I want people to desire a relationship with me not because I am so cool (lol) but because His life-giving abundance is pouring from my heart into their lives.
I am not talking perfection. Quite the contrary. Being someone who gives life to a relationship, to me, means giving when it is really really difficult, loving when things get dirty, and giving grace upon grace when necessary. Life-giving relationships do not come without boundaries. Boundaries in relationships are healthy and good for the soul. Not everyone can maneuver in a relationship with boundaries, nor can they understand that boundaries are a part of giving grace, but, they are necessary. Otherwise, you become sucked dry and cannot feed the friendship with the abundant life Jesus wants us to experience.
Sometimes, you have to walk away from a relationship that sucks you dry. I had to learn that that is okay. Sometimes, it's better and far healthier to love and give life from afar. However, I want to be the person that people don't want to walk away from. I want them to come to me and experience a love so deep and realize they have value with me, with Jesus, so wide within their soul that they experience a little piece of heaven here on earth. I want them to feel, see, taste, touch, and smell Jesus in our friendship.
My prayer for you, for me, is that we experience life-giving friendships that go beyond the ordinary and into the extraordinary.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
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