I'm feeling a bit melancholy tonight.
It might have something to do with the fact that I just got home from a Diamondbacks game in which we lost...horribly...as in 15-1. It was pretty pathetic.
But, actually, I always enjoy a ballpark on gameday, and it was fun to go to a game with my mom where we could eat a hot dog and score the game, so overall it was a pretty delightful evening.
So why am I a bit melancholy? Relationships are hard. I'm pretty convinced that we were not meant to go through life alone, and so relationships are necessary. I would even go as far as to say that relationships are an incredible blessing, completely worth fighting for. But sometimes, the fight feels too overwhelming. Sometimes sin feels like an insurmountable obstacle in relating to people, and so it's tempting to not try to relate at all. Other times it feels like you've dug in so deep to a relationship that one little rift can be absolutely devastating. And then there are those times when things change in relationships - not because of sin, just because things change - and that's hard, too.
So, you can block yourself from people completely and live a depressed and lonely life. Or, you can give yourself to people and be sinned against and deeply hurt. Or you can give yourself to people and then circumstances change, creating pain there as well. And, interestingly enough, there's a fourth option: all of the above. Yes, it's possible to experience all of the above simultaneously.
It's easy to feel melancholy when you think about it like that. And if that were all there were, then I certainly would give up here and now. Fortunately for us, that's not all there is. There is this thing called Hope, and it's offered by Jesus. Hallelujah, thank you Jesus, praise the Lord, Amen! (That's what we say in my family when something absolutely amazing and incredible and exciting and relieving and wonderful and awe-inspiring is said. Then we clap.)
I would like to pose a question to my readers (and I really would love your feedback): In a couple sentences, what is it in relationships that makes them worth fighting for? What is the Hope offered by Jesus that causes us to keep pressing forward through the pain and heartache caused by being in relationship with people? Okay, okay, that's two questions, but I'm thinking they're both getting at the same thing. Maybe not. That's why I ask. So, give me your thoughts on either one. Or both.
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2 comments:
I think relationships are worth fighting for because through them, we learn about God's characteristics through His image bearers, and because the joy from the good times generally outweighs the pain from the bad times. The hope Jesus offers is that we are no longer enslaved to sin and can therefore overcome evil with good...then enjoy that continuing relationship in eternity.
I think relationships are important because God uses people to speak truth into our lives. If we don't grow into those relationships we are missing out on a huge gift that God has given to us. Without relationships we could never experience the joy of Romans 12:15-"Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." It is difficult to trust God with hard things, but what a blessing it is when we do trust him.
Good thought Krista, that's good to be thinking about.
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