...other meditations

love taken for granted

in october, my husband and i celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. we decided to commemorate our previous decade of marriage by escaping to the pocono's for a few days. there were no interruptions, no phone calls, no emails, no friends and our employers had to deal without us for a week. it was a unique opportunity to truly appreciate one another. after returning to work the following week, i truly missed being with him. i realized that i had driven myself into a rut and started taking him for granted. i discovered that over the years, my husband became simply 'the provider', 'the fixer' and 'the protector'. what i lost sight of was all of the other wonderful things he is. he is my best friend, my lover, my confidant, my cheerleader and my significant source of happiness and joy.

taking one another for granted is evident in friendships and among family members. it happens in most human relationships. unfortunately, there is another relationship everyone, at one time or another takes for granted. i am speaking of our relationship with God, our Father in Heaven. our lives become so comfortable that we forget all about Him. it seems that we only cry out to God in our times of trouble and need. sometimes I find myself treating Him as if He were a fast-food drive thru window. i expect to hear Him say, "thank you for choosing Me…how may I help you?" or "thank you…come again!". but in reality, He doesn't want me to leave at all. He wants me to stay close.

Jesus replied: " 'love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' this is the first and greatest commandment. and the second is like it: 'love your neighbor as yourself.'
matthew 22:37-39

God wants us to love Him and cherish Him with everything we have. He wants us to run to Him without reservations, not only in our bad times but in our good times as well. sadly, we tend to forget that He is our Heavenly Father and we are His children and He desires to have a relationship with us. concerning our relationships here on earth, we need to remember to appreciate one another outwardly. merely saying the words 'i love you' is often not enough. taking the precious time to learn and grow with someone is an important step. Although it's difficult to think about others before ourselves, we can get the help we need through God.

God wants a relationship with you and He wants you to have great relationships with others. If you are finding yourself in a difficult situation, remember that God's doors are always open 24 hours of every day. He's just waiting on you…

making my request known to Him,

tamara