BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP

As I read the comments yesterday, on my post about celebrating our 50th Anniversary YEAR, I began reflecting on what a wonderful relationship Mickey & I have and how it was something that didn't just "happen" when we became husband & wife.

Mickey & I truly are enjoying the "fruits of our labor" that we have worked hard to develop. We have been through a lot of "stuff" during these 50 years. As I've shared often before, after 25 years our marriage suffered the worst blow any marriage can suffer. We were VERY tempted to just give up, "throw in the towel" and QUIT. BUT, we didn't!!!!! As good as the first 25 years were, and they truly over all were, these last 25 have been so much more.

As I was thinking on this yesterday I was thinking about, and relating it to, our relationship with God. Just as in marriage, or any other relationship, it must be developed, worked on, change and grow for it to truly be all God wants and intends for it to become. That we don't just accept and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior and suddenly have this deep, abiding, loving, mature relationship with God. We have to truly "get to know Him" better, to understand Him more completely and to be conformed to Him plans.

Lo and behold, last night when we went to Church the Pastors message was DEVELOPING A HEART FOR GOD!!! It was right along the lines that had been flowing through my mind all day. Pastor broke it down into 3 parts and I am going to share the 3 parts with you. The headings are from my Pastor, but the comments are my own thoughts.

1. An Open Heart - Getting rid of our pre-conceived ideas!!! Boy, now that's a big one in both marriage and our relationship to God. We don't just "live happily ever after" because we have become husband and wife. I know I spent a great deal of my life casting off "myths" that I had been taught. I got where I actually would say to myself, "Well, there goes another false myth!" as my eyes have been opened as it related to both my marriage and my knowledge of God. . We also don't automatically become one with God in body, spirit and soul, just because we've accepted Jesus as Savior. We have to be willing to learn the likes and dislikes, the moods, the good points and bad points of our spouse. We have to learn to know what God is really like by spending time in His Word. Learning that He is a loving God, a God of mercy and grace, but he is also a God of justice.

Just as we learn to love our spouse more deeply, as we go through both the good and the bad times together, we learn to know and understand God better, through both the good and the bad times. Yes, there are good and bad times in both our relationship with our spouse and our relationship with God. As we handle each situation, good or bad, we develop that "history" with one another that sustains us in future situations. Just as I've learned I can count on and depend on Mickey I have learned I can count and depend on God because I have the history and knowledge of past occasions.

2. A Transparent Heart - We must be real. We must be willing to share our greatest joys, and our greatest fears. We must be an open book to one another in marriage. In our relationship with God it is more about letting Him reveal our true heart, and selves, to ourselves. We are so good at deceiving our selves and refusing to look into those areas of thinking, conduct, and actions that we don't want to face. If we seek God with an open, willing heart He will go deep into our darkest parts and reveal them to us. We must desire and seek to be transparent.

3. A Broken Heart - We must be willing to confess when we have been wrong both to our spouse and to God. I have to add here also to ourselves. We must want the best for both our spouse and for God. We must get to the point where we are not willing to settle for anything but giving our best. We must be broken to know God's heart toward the lost of this world. To develop a real concern and passion that ALL come to know Him and the joy and satisfaction that we enjoy. To care about the needs and hurts of others.

The Church is called The Bride of Christ. We are called to be a pure and spotless Bride. We are being called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. For those of us who are married we have the perfect training ground for this in our marriage.

I wish for all of you to be blessed with the happy, secure, growing relationship in marriage that I enjoy in mine. I thank God daily for mine and I do not take it for granted.

More than the above, I wish for all of you to have and develop the happy, secure, growing relationship with your Lord & Savior that He intends. May we all strive and work to develop this most important of all relationship . May we truly KNOW HIM and love Him with all our hearts and our neighbors as ourselves .

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself." Matthew 22:37-39