Deep Relationships: A Starting Point

This is not rocket science but we tend to miss it a lot of the time.

We know what we want and what we don't want. We know our dreams and passions.

But rarely are we as highly acquainted with the dreams and desires of the people around us. 

I am certainly guilty of this.  I am an extremely selfish person by nature... I'm an only child..I'm goal oriented.. most of my life has been spent pursuing what I want out of life.

However, the love that Christ is slowly teaching me to have as much interest in others as I do in myself.  A love is growing in me for learning people, for hearing their hearts... for actually knowing people. It's surprisingly fun. I think this has shown up the most for me in my relationship with Lori and the kids and close friends. I recognize that any progress that has been made in my life in this area is God's direct work in me.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

                                                                                                   Galatians 5:22-23

These are essential qualities for deep relationships.

I'm no expert on this but I found this to be a genuinely helpful starting place for deep relationships.

Not all relationships can be deep but, at the very least, our relationships with our spouses, best friends and children need to be... period. 

Genuinely knowing people is critical... especially the people that journey closest to us.

Ryan