relationships: on purpose

Yesterday (Sunday) in our worship experience, we thought about relationships and how we can make them awesome. Increasing our grace, mercy & forgiveness; learning to simply get along; and investing ourselves in others were all mentioned as ways we can get to the 'awesome' part, turning our relationships from rotten to rockin.' There are, of course, a whole bunch of other ways we can improve our relationships, but there is really one aspect that ties them all together, one thing that they all have in common: Intentionality. Great relationships, whether marriage, friendship, colleagues, teammates, etc., don't happen on accident. Great relationships happen on purpose. Sure, your first encounter with someone may be a 'chance' event, but if the relationship that grows from that is going to succeed for the long-haul, it's going to take your intentional effort. One of the reasons we may not do well at relationships is because we lack intentionality in them. We just sorta go with the flow, not really putting any thought or effort into making our relationships better. But relationships are something we 'do,' whether we like it or not, so...we might as well 'do' them as best we can. Think about the relationships you have now. Where are they going great? Why is that? I bet part of the success is because both of you are putting effort into it. Where are your relationships broken? If you want the relationship to improve, how can you be more intentional in your relationship? How can you put more effort into making it great? One last thought...relationships are all about the long-haul. They don't get great overnight, but they don't fall apart overnight either. It's all about time, so stick with it. Keep putting forth the effort if you want your relationships to improve. Do it 'on purpose.'