COMPLEX BUT NOT HARD

PRACTICE: Write a brief description of a complex relationship that you share with another human.

Life – Life – this life we live is deep and complex. We would be utterly overwhelmed if we could look into a crystal ball and see all that we could become. It would blow our minds to stand right now and see our final destination and everything in between. While this scenario is not possible, it is possible to recognize that we are complex beings. Because we are amazingly intricate beings, we can guide and shape the “now,” the in between and our final destinations by embracing the fact that our relationships with people and things are going to be messy and complex as well.

Here is one example of what simple complexity looks like. Relationships allow us space to be learners, followers and sharers – sometimes we are just one of these and other times all three are happening at the same time in different layers of life and sometimes occurring amid a shared journey. I have a young friend that is half my age. She will seek me out and I her for the joy of our sisterly, motherly, girlfriend relationship. If we have not talked in a few days, I can expect a phone call (she is better at this than me) … “Are you okay?” She has taught me in a different way how to be intentional about staying connected. Inevitably our conversation will turn to something she is trying to figure out about work or life in general. Out of my life experiences, I usually can provide some guidance or least give her another way of looking at the situation. She refers to my guidance as wisdom and I laugh. My dear friend works at seeing the best in everybody and I am more pragmatic. She expresses gratitude for all that she sees and experiences, so much so, that I am trying to follow her example. In this one relationship, I learn, I follow, and I share. I pray that I bring as much value to her as she does to me!

It is deep. It is complex. She and I are shaping our “now.” We are preparing each other for the relationships and experiences we will have with others between now and our final destinations. And although complex, it is not hard because we embrace the fact we are created to live life as continuous learners, followers and sharers.

Proverbs 19:20

PONDER THIS THOUGHT – Learning, sharing, following are present in my cherished relationships.