The whole body . . . grows and builds itself up in love. Ephesians 4:16
Ephesians 4:4–16 is a great reference to read to connect with this post.
My youngest grandson is with me Monday – Thursday as a preschool student. He is the youngest student I have had regular and the smallest version of students I have had in upper grades. He is very strong-willed, and we work through many things.
As part of our schedule, he has recess time built into the program, so I give him choices daily on what he would like to do. The weather is still cold and does not allow us to go outside yet. We usually play a game together, or he will build something with Legos. However, he has chosen a movie to watch a few times. One of the movies he selected was The Croods.
The Croods is an animated caveman family, and they believe that the only way to survive is if the family “pack” stays together. They talk about the fears of discovering something “new” and the dangers of the world outside their cave.
When their cave is destroyed, they need to move on to find a different place for safety, and a new person is brought into their lives. They begin to learn, accept and understand through other interactions to embrace all of the situations to live life.
The Croods involves two movies now, and both are filled with understanding relationships and embracing change and differences. My grandson laughs and enjoys these movies a great deal. He will be facing a new place next year, Kindergarten and making new relationships. His educational journey in public school will begin.
Relationships can be risky in our lives—-people can and do hurt us. I think it is important to always talk about relationships and how to work to make them better. Having positive relationships takes work. My husband and I began dating in high school at the age of 16. I was engaged at 19, married at 20 and expecting our first child who was born when I was 21 years old. We will be married 38 years this year. We will both tell you, it took a great deal of work.
We were never to be alone in our journey through life. Each of us has a place, a purpose, and a reason. It is not always clear to us what it is, but it will be one day if you have not found it. We help each other by building up in love rather than tearing down. Surround yourself with those who stand, support, and believe in the way you do. When you have a support system like this, you learn from each other, mature and equip yourself to serve others.
Build up in love and find your relationships with those who build up the same way.