If we have been conscious of the need to build and to nourish our personal relationships we have discovered that each relationship project is a work in progress. That is particularly true of course with respect to our relationship with our Creator. We may fail in our relationship building with others for reasons that may be beyond our control. When that happens we may have to let go in our efforts to actively sustain the relationship and be content to be loving and compassionate knowing that God loves the other unconditionally and will take care of the person. In such cases we have to be content to contribute to the others welfare through our prayers and charitable actions towards them. After all, God built all of us differently and occasionally our personalities just don’t mesh. We need not worry however about successfully building our relationship with God as long as we are open to God’s grace.
One of the challenges in relationship building is having a working knowledge of one’s self. Most of us, I believe, may never really know ourselves as our Creator knows us but then most of our intimates don’t have the full picture either. Unravelling the multiple masks we may have invented for ourselves to protect our vulnerability is a task allocated to the very special relationship we build with God. We may not even recognize a mask consciously but God sees it and seeks to gently set it aside for God designed each of us for a special purpose in this life and wants us to realize our full potential.
As we work on our personal relationship with God we are building a foundation that will see us into eternity. Nothing could be more important and nothing could be more fulfilling. God has to be “Number 1” and therefore our relationship with our Creator has to be paramount. When we experience the loss of other relationships through death or separation we, of course, grieve. We have the joy of knowing however that our relationship with God never ends and that our separation from our loved ones is only temporary. In the greater scheme of things what happens here during our earthly pilgrimage is but a preparation for our “real life” when all will be restored.
Truly understanding these realities can’t help but fill us with joy. The process of building intimacy with God slowly reveals to us and to those around us who we really are: the creation of the Divine Architect who has uniquely gifted each of us to do God’s work while we are here. As we begin to see ourselves as God sees us the more we begin to recognize our missions in this life. Those missions are specifically designed for each of us and as we embrace them we experience the joy of being the persons that God created us to be.
When we seek to build intimacy with our Creator, we are reassured by the knowledge that God actively seeks to encourage our efforts by pouring out “grace” upon our efforts. It is instructive that as we share our Creators compassion, love and mercy for us, with those around us, we begin to glimpse the elusive person that we are.
God Gracious 