"The Art of Relationship"

When God created Adam and Eve from the dust of the earth,  He created the very first relationship. Free from the world. Free from expectations. Adam and Eve were just two people trying to figure things out as they went along. They were building a foundation from the ground up(literally) growing and learning from each other, creating something beautiful. Yes, they had struggles, and trying times, did they throw in the towel? No, they did not have a towel!!! They were naked.  but they were blessed and they did not take their special connection for granted. Because they knew something their future generations will learn the hard way relationships and friendships are  work and of course,  God knew it.  Relationships take time, they are messy, complicated, and hard. So why even bother? What is the purpose of it all? Is there a book that offers insight into relationships? Yes, there is. "It is called "The Art of relationship." In it, Mr. Dan Chrystal explains What a friend is, and why they matter so much. So, Why do we need to have friends?

 According to the author,  Mr. Chrystal, "Companionship." "Someone to share experiences with and bring meaning to our lives." "And grow and make connections with." (p.48). Someone who will laugh with us, and someone who will not expect anything from us. Someone we can be ourselves with. In short, a friend. What is a friend? A real and true friend? Someone who shares life with us, hurts, dreams, and the tough stuff. You know, the success and the failures of life.  Someone who shows emotion on our behalf. For example, compassion, anger, sadness, when the situation is appropriate. Someone who will stick with us in the dark moments. For example, when the pain is almost too much to take. Someone who tells the truth, and won't let us fail." (p.57). Someone who will sacrifice for us." Things like, time and money. Wow, no pressure.  Anyway, What does it take to build a relationship? Lots of money, fame, and fancy clothes, and perfect hair and teeth. Not really. It's the biggies Trust and Honesty. Oh, that. Yes. that. All of us have hard it before "Trust is the foundation for any relationship." Without trust there is nothing to create a foundation.  And the foundation starts with first, Trust is tricky according to Mr. Chrystal. "Because we put so much focus on building trust and less on being trustworthy ourselves." (paraphrased p. 162).  Honestly is another important part of any relationship. It is vital according to Mr. Chrystal. Because it is about accountability.  Is this person in my life going to be someone who will keep their word? Show up? be there? And second the foundation is also about competency a someone who is skilled at a certain thing. For example, that friend who can fix anything is not going to show up to your house and be a good listener while you cry about the guy that broke your heart. We all have our gifts.  Third and finally, Reliability- someone who is dependable. Someone who can be counted on. That friend who will drop everything and come over and talk.  Mr. Chrystal says when he meets new people he builds their trust. He also says trust depends on us."(p. 175) How much are we willing to give to the other person?  It works both ways. I guess that's why relationships  are work. Anyway, sometime down the road, a relationship is faced with trials, and trust is broken. How does it get repaired? Reestablish it. Rebuild it from the ground up. It can happen, according to the author but it's a process." Also, trust is earned."  The point of all this is, simple God blessed us with relationships, so we won't be alone. Awe. he loves us so much he wanted us to have someone in our lives that loves us as much as he does. Yes, love. All relationships are cultivated on it. After all, God so loved the world. You know, so he blessed us with friends.

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