Friday, March 4, 2011

YOUR Relationship with God

Every night, for as long as I can remember, my grandmother has said to me, "Goodnight, Alex. God bless you." When I was younger, I used to get very confused... "But, grandma... I didn't sneeze!" I didn't quite get it.

Then, when I got older, I began to learn what it meant to say to someone, "God bless you." I learned it's not just something to say when someone sneezes... Now, although I'm 23, sometimes when she says "Goodnight, Alex. God bless you," I say, "Ah-choo!!!"

To some, that may seem disrespectful, but in my relationship with my grandmother, it's a sweet reminder of my childhood.

Your relationship with your grandparents may be completely different from mine, I know your relationships with your friends aren't all exactly the same... we were wired by God to love in different ways! (Read the Five Love Languages sometime...)

Just as a recap, the five love languages are: words of affirmation, quality time, gifts, physical touch (shout out to all my huggers!) and acts of service.

I was smiling last night, thinking about how rude it would sound to someone else for me to say "ah-choo" to my grandmother when she is genuinely speaking God's blessing over me, and it made me think about what it means to have a personal relationship with God.

Deep, meaningful relationships take time. They are always different in some way. They are unique. Some may seem deeper than others... some spend time with God outdoors in His creation, some prefer the quiet of their bedroom, some go to a coffeehouse... some write their praises, some sing them, some paint them...

Don't envy the relationship someone else has with God. He has the capacity to love us each individually and uniquely. Wait in anticipation of deepening your relationship with Him, not simply striving to love Him like your friend or teacher does... Relationship takes time, and God has all the time you both need to build a relationship fit for eternity!