Devotional | Relationship is where it’s at

If I was to ask you to nominate your best feature, what would you say?

For me, I would say my legs. I have GREAT legs.

I haven’t always felt that way, but that all changed when someone who doesn’t lie – someone I trust – told me so.

When I was at school, I was teased about my legs. The way I ran was apparently for others a source of enormous amusement.

Fast forward about twenty years to starting a new job. The lovely young manager who was training me looked after me so well that I went on to marry him – and my children love the story of that first meeting – retelling with relish how Dad fell for Mum when he caught sight of her legs as she was getting out of her car.

My what?

Yes, my darling husband thought my legs were great and ever since I have had unshakeable confidence in that much maligned part of my anatomy. Why? Because my husband is honest to a fault. Even if sometimes a lie would get him out of a sticky situation, even if sometimes I wish he wasn’t so direct – I can 100% rely on him telling me the truth. So, if he tells me I have great legs, then people, there’s no point arguing. There has been great power to erase lies and bad memories by believing the truth from someone I wholeheartedly trust.

My 30+ years of marriage have taught me I can 100% trust what my husband says to me, but that belief didn’t come instantly or easily. I had a history – don’t we all – so the relationship had to deepen over time for trust to build. He proved himself trustworthy and truthful – and I chose to believe it and rely on it.

So many voices both near and far compete for our attention – think family, friends, colleagues, television and social media for starters. Where do we get our truths from? As Christians, the expected answer is God – the source of all truth. And that’s right. But if we fully believed all that God said about us in His word, there wouldn’t be Christians today battling with rejection or lack of self-worth. You can believe in God without believing Him – that relationship also takes time to deepen and develop.

I had to learn about God over time. I had to see Him in action. Hear His voice. Understand His heart and flounder when I didn’t until answers came. Remind myself that when He feels far away, it’s not because He’s gone anywhere – it’s me that’s moved away, and I need to reset. It’s been a long learning curve, and one I’ll stay on this side of heaven.

The more time you spend in any relationship, the greater the level of intimacy. You can have deeper intimacy with God by getting to know Him better and growing a relationship with Him. When you can hear His voice of truth, it can break the power of wrong beliefs you have about yourself and that can change you to your core.

What do you do to get to know God better? How do you invest time into your relationship with Him? For those of us who love reading and writing, you can look at practices like Lectio Divina or Two-Way Journalling. One thing I especially love is to just spend time with Him – to stop, no agenda, just to sit with Him on my verandah with a pot of tea and breathe, slowing my pace and drinking in His creation. When I do that, it isn’t long before I’m overflowing with so many things I can thank Him for – from the view, to the garden, the birds, bees and butterflies, cloud formations, fog rolling in, a stormy sky or gentle breezes. Even my dog doing silly rolls on the grass. Anything that slows you down and invites Him in will open up the lines of communication, providing a rich tonic for growing your relationship with Him. And if you journal, take the time to read back over your entries and highlight His answers to your prayers in some type of creative way – use crayons, paints, stickers or whatever takes your fancy to underline His faithfulness. Any of these activities are time well spent in building and strengthening your relationship with Him.

You may even take a moment and thank Him for your best feature. It might have taken half my life to believe it, but God, I thank you – wholeheartedly – for the blessing of my legs.