Not a Priority

I have a friend who shall remain nameless. We have been friends for years, but we don’t have a close friendship. She is a wonderful person and very sweet and charming. When we first met as adults, I thought that our relationship was a close relationship. We spent a lot of time together and shared a lot of things with each other. Then I moved back to my home in Missouri. I would write, email, and occasionally try to call her, but she very rarely responded to my overtures. I was the one who was doing most of the work in this relationship so I decided to let the relationship go. A few years later she came back into my life through my parents. She gave my mom her number and told her to have me call her. I have to admit that I didn’t call her, but I did go to church with my parents to see her again. She acted all happy to see me and said that we should have lunch together sometime, but she wouldn’t commit to a date or a time. A little later that day as I watched her set a date and a time to go to the movies with someone else I realized that our relationship, our friendship, had never been a priority for her.

Thinking about this relationship started me thinking about other relationships and how I have never really felt like a priority in anybody’s life. It seems like at times that I am more often than not the one that works to keep the relationship afloat in many of my relationships and I start to wonder why that is. Is it something about me? Am I doing something wrong in my relationships? I don’t know, but then I start to think about my relationship with Jesus.

There are times in my life where I don’t make my relationship with Jesus a priority. You can tell those times when you see me because I am stressed, depressed, and full of unrest. When I don’t make my relationship with Jesus a priority in my life, I begin to worry about the things of this world. I get focused on what I don’t have in my life and I what I want. I start worrying about what people think about me. I become lonely. I get angry and frustrated easily. I think only about myself and my problems.

On the other hand, when my relationship with Jesus is a priority, I am happier, no stress, and no unrest. I am focused on what He has provided for me. I am focused on what He wants for me. I am more caring and focused on others. I don’t angry or frustrated as easily. When I am focused on Jesus, I am more the person I want to be.  I don’t have to worry about tomorrow when I am focused on Jesus or worry about what I don’t have that I think I need. I just need to love Him and trust that He will provide what I need when I need it.

Challenge: Focus on your relationship with Jesus. Make Him the Priority.