Relationship

In order to love we must be in connection with others.  To have any other deep values, we must first be in relationship.  We cannot live “just me and God” for God only grants grace to those in loving relationship to others.  A hermit is a spiritual cripple, for it is in the dirty rough-and-tumble of associating and being open to hurt that we learn the discipline of love.  It is good, at times, to retreat and escape the demands of relationship and to focus on who we are in God.  But this is not an end in itself, but a respite to prepare ourselves to associate, connect and care.

Do I have the tendency to isolate?  When I have a problem with others, do I run to a safe place, away from any other person?  Do I use my words to isolate, to separate myself from others, or to draw them into deeper relationship?  Am I afraid of others, of how they might hurt me and so use my non-verbal communication to warn people away from me?  Do I need to spend time with God to overcome fear and anger so I can relate to others as God would have me to?