"SEASONAL Relationships"

To Everything there is a Season, and a Time to every purpose under the heaven. (Ecc. 3:1)

No matter who you are, a discussion surrounding the topic of relationships is bound to peak your interest on one level or another. With each passing year of life, I am learning not only the value of good, healthy relationships, but also how discern those acquaintances and interactions which are in fact "seasonal".

In some regions, people live with four seasons winter, spring, summer, and fall. In tropical regions, there are just two--dry season and rainy season (which for the Caribbean includes Hurricane Season.) At any event, appreciating the season in which you find your relational encounters may better help you understand why certain things are occuring (or not) with you; and it will also release you from harboring any guilt, resentment, disappointment or bitterness as a result of a relationship which simply "came, to pass".

Today, just a few words about "Spring Relationships":

Spring Relationships: Fresh, new, and as unpredictable as the wind. These relationships capture our hearts, our imaginations, and expand our views on what 'might be'. Spring relationships seem to bring out the best in every human; whether a love relationship or a platonic friendship, the 'newness' of it all is, at first delightful. The air is sweet, the birds are singing, everything's coming up roses--God is just "good all the time"! Spring relationships can cause us to mount an all out sales and promotional campaign on ourselves; we are exceptionally attentive, free-spirited, and just down-right "on it". In the Spring, "it's all good". Or is it??

Caution: While you enjoy the Spring, and your heart has opened up to new possibilities, don't retire the good, practical sense and discernment that God gave you. God is love. God LOVES authentic love. But the best human love begins with friendship. You are no one's "better half": you are a fearfully and wonderfully created WHOLE person with much to offer. Spring is great! Just don't lose yourself in the wind. Amen.
--Rev. Stephanie

Next up...."Summer Time".