What’s interesting about relationships is that in order to fully enjoy them, we must be focused on others. The moment we begin to focus on what we’re getting out of them or what we want others to do, our joy will die. People will disappoint us; they will fail us and we will fail them. The opportunities to invest in others are endless. Part of enjoying our relationships is making time for them. Pursue someone you’d like to know or someone you haven’t seen in a while. Write down ways your friends are meaningful to you. We are forgetful people and need reminders of how great a gift our friends truly are.
No strategies will completely cause us to be free of relationship strife; we need Jesus! We also want to put our faith in action, so we try, knowing that we will make mistakes and that God’s grace is essential in this quest.
Trillia Newbell is the author of Enjoy, Fear and Faith, and United. She is the director of community outreach for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. Excerpted from Enjoy by Trillia J. Newbell Copyright © 2016 Trillia J. Newbell. Excerpted by permission of Multnomah, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
