May 9th - Relationships

The story...

I'm in 7th-grade wood-shop class, the class bully's walking around the shop thumping a stick in his hand.  He was the strong tough kid that could do far more chin ups than any other kid in school. Thankfully, I was not one of the kids that "they" picked on.  One kid was forced to give him his lunch money and others were soundly humiliated.  Now he was walking towards me, at the table saw, sharing a few laughing glances with his friends.  He was thumping a board-club in his hand - I felt trouble coming.

"Would you help me set up the table saw?  I can't get it right."  The words came from my mouth; yet, to this day, I wonder what the source of those words was.  I can remember a quick change in his countenance - he dropped the stick and helped me set up the table saw.  A strange phenomena occurred yet I still don't know what happened - I've guessed.

On the way walking back from school he yells at me from behind.  I remember thinking, "oh no, here it comes."  He catches up with me and talks to me on the way home.  The same think happened for a few weeks - he wanted to be my friend.  This strange friendship didn't last long; but, it meant a lot to me.

Relationships develop within the only church in town. The most important relationship is with God yet relationships along our life journey are worthy.  

Just for today...

"I find that reworking my way through forgiveness has freed me to move beyond my pain.  I can now establish a healthier and more intimate relationship with God. Finally, I experience wonderful freedom."  Hope for Today (p. 130)

"If I am troubled, worried, exasperated or frustrated, do I rationalize the situation and put the blame on someone else?"  One Day at a Time (p. 130)

"One way to learn to love myself is to accept the love of others."  Courage to Change (p. 130)

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art, like the universe itself (for God did not need to create). It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.”  C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves (p.71)