Treasure your Relationships

Tonight one of the teens from my former youth group graduates from high school. This high school senior will throw his cap in the air and most likely does not have a clue what life has in store for him on the other side of this evening.  He may not realize the importance of the relationships that he has with those other seniors who will stand with him tonight as graduates.

I probably did not either.  I remember my graduation very well.  The day went by quickly and so did the ceremony.  I remember very little of what was said.  I do however remember tossing the cap, hugging my friends, going home for dinner and leaving for summer camp where I was working for the next 8 weeks.  From that day forward to today I have seen my high school friends very little.  It is amazing how quickly time has flown and how little of them I have seen.

Those relationships I had with my classmates I think I took for granted, that or I so naively believed they’d always be there.  However, time has slowly pulled those relationships apart, or at least put distance between us.  Not always negatively, but just as a part of the reality of life.

Most of us have had very fulfilling lives from what I know.  Many of us went off to college, many of us have married, some have had children, others are now expecting.  We have all had to move out of the homes of our parents and into our own places, taking care of our own responsibilities.

What has made this easier is those relationships we have had, both old and new, relationships with each other, our families,  our parents, and the new relationships we’ve formed since high school, with college roommates, colleagues, and others along the way.

All of these relationships are important in their own way because you see God placed them in our path.  He had a hand in each and every one of them.  One might call this divine intervention.  God divinely inspiring those relationships in our lives for just the right time to help fulfill just the right need.  That’s how He works after all.

I think it is important that we treasure those relationships, realizing how important they are to all of us.  Whether they be relationships from our past or those we are presently enjoying they should be treasured because they are a gift from God.

So, whether you’re a high school senior about to throw your cap in the air, or someone who has been in the real world a long time.  Look around you, count those relationships you have or have had and treasure them in your heart.