Relationships Part 8

 

You now have a list of people who taught and from whom you caught the ways of being in relationship.  You may have named and noticed how the person connected with you ~ in good or bad or even ugly ways.  Yet, our relationships cannot always be classified or compartmentalized into positive or negative or both.  Sometimes our relationships are complex and complicated ~ like Saul and David in our scripture from Sunday.  There are countless ways to engage the movement from “me” to “we”.

 

Some of the folks in my index of the Book of Love include:

Family who modeled how to relate and whose words/presence molded me.

Childhood friends from whom I learned laughter’s healing art and the playfulness of prayer.

Teachers who inspired me as well as informed/educated.

Mentors whose wisdom and one liners I can still hear echoing in my mind.

Work colleagues who got me through the first few years of ministry.

 

You might put in your index people from the past.  Like the boss you set you in a new direction through a promotion or maybe a pink slip.  And continue to the present with other church members who you sit alongside on Sunday mornings.   Today, I invite you to grow index of the book of love by stirring in culture. 

 

You see, our world tells us a great deal about relationships.  I am looking at you Family Ties and Friends episodes of my youth.  I am looking at you, romance writers and Bridges of Madison County writer Robert Waller (there is your Iowa reference for the week!).  I am looking at you Disney movies.  I am looking at you the Monotones and Beyonce and Celine Dion! 

 

The music, movies, books, Facebook posts, and even this morning meditation, has ways of leaving an impression…perhaps without us even realizing it.  From the songs played at your prom to your wedding to movies that had you reaching for Kleenex and books that you never wanted to end.  These…these words/moments are important to name and notice.

 

I want you to think about a song that brings tears to your eyes or makes your soul come alive.  I want you to recall your favorite movie that you’ve seen so many times you can repeat the lines.  I want you to list on your paper with family and friends, the authors whose words leapt from the page and became part of your understanding of the world.

 

You may think, “Humph, Nora Roberts doesn’t tell me about relationships and love.”  Perhaps not.  But we swim in a sea of culture…like a fish in water…perhaps not realizing the ways what we watch, listen to, and read is shaping our souls every day.  You are being shaped by what you read and hear, ponder this truth prayerfully as you turn on the television or click on a story.  Add to your index ~ movies, music, artists, poets, authors, and others who you may not know personally, but who are there on the shelf of your soul impacting and influencing you.

 

What I saw on the movie screen growing up shaped me.  What I read about romance as a teenager filled my mind with ideas that guided me.  What I witnessed in music left a rhythm to which I tried to groove and move.  The more we name, the more we can begin to tame some of the forces that are working in our lives.  I would LOVE to hear some of the authors and artists who are part of your index in the book of love.  I named some of mine.  Now it’s your turn if you wish.  Amen.