December 4, 2018 SHARE: Reading time: two minutes. Relationships are constantly in need of renewal and conversation, sharing our stories, is what freshens them up. After eight hours at work, my wife Carol can be a new person. She’s experienced some things that I need to catch up on. Time together with any family member or friend is an opportunity to be curious and to make things new and fresh. Our relational networks are constantly changing also. Someone new joins the congregation. A new staff member joins your team. Maybe you haven’t had a good conversation with an old friend for a long time. Maybe it’s time to be curious and reconnect. As the new year approaches, which relationship of yours needs a little attention so that you can converse a little more intentionally and build the intimacy that the Lord intends for you? The church of Jesus is really nothing more than relationships centered on our common faith in our one Lord and King. Paul encourages us to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” in Ephesians 4. We do that when we worship together, pray together, confess our faith together and serve together. We also do that when we spend the necessary time to know one another better. So, who is it with whom you could use a better connection? You might ask yourself the following: Who is the member of our governing board that I know the least, but I would really like to know better? Who is the most recently installed pastor in our circuit? How well have I gotten to know him? (For educators), Which member of our faculty should I spend a little time with soon? Which parent from my classroom? Who is in worship every Sunday, but whom I don’t know from any other context? Next, ask yourself if it would be best to set up a formal time together or to pay attention to your next occasion to be together by giving a little extra attention to this person. Do you have a specific question you’d like to ask or topic on which you’d like to hear their opinion? Is there something you need to share with them so that they might know you a bit better? Sometimes relationships need a little sprucing up for the sake of keeping our unity fresh, kind of like rearranging the furniture or a fresh coat of paint. Surprise someone this week. “Hey, could we get together sometime for a few minutes? I feel like I want to get to know you better?” Thanks for reading. Are you interested in helping bring a Grace Place Wellness Retreat to your region? We’d love to hear from you. Contact our President/CEO Randy Fauser today to begin exploring the possibilities. Let’s have a conversation about bringing our Church Worker Retreat to your area soon!