We have just celebrated Thanksgiving and I was blessed to spend some extended time with my precious family of 4 and good friends! It was so much fun to have time to play cards, eat, go shopping, talk and catch up on each others' lives.

As I sat and reflected this morning on the wonderful memories, I was reminded of Lysa TerKeurst's quote (in the picture above) from chapter 8 in "Uninvited".

Relationships require time, sharing of your heart and a "give and take". Well, actually,  more giving and less taking. We need to truly listen and see from where the other person is coming. I started a new job recently and have become keenly aware of relationships. New relationships take more time to cultivate as I share some of my past to allow others "in" to see the "real" me. It's not always easy and it takes time to cultivate trust. There is a certain amount of risk that comes with the territory. However "acceptance is like an antibiotic that prevents past rejections from turning into present-day infections." (pg.95)

At my age, I'm willing to take some risks that I wasn't willing to take earlier in my life. Jesus has healed many of the rejections in the past so that I can be free to love others to Him, because of His love. 

1 John 4: 9-11 (NLT) "God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other." (emphasis mine)

May we go into this Advent season being willing to take the risk of relationship to love others with His love and trust our relationships to Him where they can reach His full potential. 

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