salt (and pepper) and light

I had a conversation with my parents a while ago. It was one of those long, honest, "heart-to-heart" conversations about life and. . . stuff. I didn't used to like those much cause life seemed easier-- no, more pleasant when I just kept to myself and dealt with things on my own. Stupid. The older I get, the more I enjoy them - those conversations. I'm still not the best at initiating them, but I want them - I wanna stay raw and real with people. It's hard, but it feels so-o good! Like growing pains (those always made me laugh cuz they hurt, but I liked that I was growing).

But anyway, we were at the table and talking about relationships and the salt and pepper and a candle got used to illustrate how our relationships should look.


It's crucial that we keep God, the light, in the center of the relationship. And when we find ourselves (the salt or pepper in this case) off to one side or the other, all it takes is repositioning ourselves so that everything we do and say to a friend or family member or coworker goes through God first. Cuz if He's not there we can end up hurting people. . . or getting hurt. Messes get made of things that could be and should be beautiful.

It's interesting, though, and it can't be shown with these table-things because it's not physically possible, but as long as you are choosing to be "hidden" behind God, you will be, even if the other person in the relationship has stepped out of line so that they're not "hidden." He'll protect us and help us to filter the things that come at us if we're being deliberate about keeping Him in the relationship mix.

But the best is to be in a relationship where both people are choosing to keep God between them. Cuz He's there to protect us, but His being there doesn't hinder growth in relationship! In fact, the more we move toward Him, the closer we are to each other!

So take a look at your relationships and see if you've got God there in between you and your friends or family or whoever. And if He's not there. . . ask Him to be! Real relationship isn't usually a walk in the park (sounds nice though) and it's easy to get caught up in the emotions of it all (good or bad) and forget to keep God in the center. So be deliberate. In all your relationships!