communication.

Everything we do and say sends a message.  More often than not, it's indirect.  A slumped posture indicates sadness, perhaps stress, or even depression.  Dressing nicely rather than wearing sweats shows that you care a little bit more for whatever is going on that day.  Even the way we smile tells the recipient whether we are smiling out of necessity or out of genuine agreement or happiness.

Regardless our intent, the way we move and act and speak communicates something.

Really, it's a gift from God.  I see the way that we interact with one another, the way relationships grow, the depth of relationship that comes from understanding one another.  It's beautiful.  God created Eve for relationship.  He made her for the specific purpose of being a companion.  So are we made to be companions, to be friends, to live in community, in relationship.

In the infamous Moby Dick, Melville writes, "No man is an island."  Boy, is he right.  What we do affects others.  What we say has an impact.  Everything is intertwined, and relationships are no different.

I find myself relying on other people more and more as I see my own inadequacy, as I learn what it means to truly rely on Jesus, and what it looks like to be the body of Christ.  My fellow discipleship students (Bigs) and I lean on one another constantly for support, for consolation, for affirmation, for a reminder of why we are here and Who we serve.

We are held together by the God who redeemed us and brought us into relationship with Himself and with one another through Jesus.


[let me just tell you, i really did intend this post to be about communication.  then it turned into one about relationships.  but i suppose the two are inextricably linked, are they not? oi.  i need to get my thoughts together, but it's after midnight and i'm done thinking for a while.  good night :)]