Monday, August 11, 2008

It's all about Relationships

This weekend was a busy one, but a blessed one. It was filled with the beauty of relating to one another. Saturday I spent a few hours with a small reunion of campers from a Joni and Friends Family camp. It was a joy to see the precious, angelic faces of the special needs campers. They were thrilled to see each other. They hugged, and smiled and laughed; they simply enjoyed being together again. Oh the beauty of the pure love these dear campers have for one another! It wasn’t about who has what or who shops where, but here in the center of Dallas all they cared about was relationships. My heart is always filled with joy when I am surrounded by special needs people!

As I arrived home from the Joni and Friends gathering, I was able to spend some time with my college daughter Joy and her friend Kimberly. Sitting and visiting around the kitchen table is one of my favorite past-times, yet in the hustle and bustle of daily schedules I don’t make as much time as I should for these refreshing moments. Before we knew it, we realized it was time to get going and get dressed for a wedding we were all to attend.

Aynsley and Jason’s wedding was not only a celebration of their love for each other, but of their mutual love for Christ. It was obvious through the music and testimony in the ceremony that Jesus was the center of their lives. The decorations and bouquets were all creatively and lovingly made by the bride. It was a beautiful event in every way, but most importantly it glowed with love for each other and for Christ.

After the wedding, Curt and I rushed over to a dinner party for a wonderful missionary couple who serve in Northern Italy. Okay, now you may be thinking Northern Italy, wouldn’t we all want to be missionaries there? It’s not an easy job. The coldness to a relationship with Christ which pervades Europe is a barrier few of us would choose to face. Hillary and Terrence Luker are an incredible, faith-walking couple. As they build relationships with the people in Italy, they share Christ’s love and the message of a relationship with him. Please pray for their work. When Curt and I finally left the dinner party near the midnight hour, we both reminisced with joy about the conversation around the dinner table (thanks to Kelly Cunningham, our incredible host), and the miraculous work the Lord is doing in the lives of the Luker family.

I told you it was a busy weekend, and yet it was a glorious weekend about relationships.
Often we get caught up in schedules or rules or whatever distracts us from loving others and we don’t really look at people, listen to them and love them. This weekend was a tangible reminder to me of God’s two greatest commands: love God and love people. Let’s keep those at the forefront of our hearts and minds this week as we deal with life, kids and agendas.

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