Skip to main content

New Article: Five Words to Improve Your Relationships

 

               In the late 1800s, it was common for railway companies to plant formal gardens beside their stations.  These gardens were filled with trees, shrubs, flowers, and fruit trees.  Sometimes they also featured a kitchen garden growing lettuce, carrots, corn, and potatoes.  Estevan’s Canadian Pacific Railway Garden was once located where Mid-City Plumbing and Heating is today.

               The purpose of these gardens was to show what the land could produce.  After hours and sometimes days of riding across the featureless prairies, the railways wanted to show settlers the potential of their new home.  The gardens showed what was possible and they encouraged the settlers to transform their own land and discover its potential too.

               Today’s verse acts similarly, in that it challenges us to find the potential in our relationships by transforming how we approach them.  Colossians 3:12 says, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience”.   

               Imagine how our interactions would change if we made it our priority to approach every situation and every person with an attitude that was compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, and patient.  How much friction would be eliminated if those five attitudes guided our thoughts, words, and actions? Maybe the best way to realize how powerful those thoughts are is to think about what happens when they are absent.

               While sitting on a bench in Riding Mountain National Park eating ice cream, I watched families walk past me.  In almost every case, someone was mad, upset, or yelling at someone else.  The mom was grouchy because the kids were whining.  The kids were whining because they wanted to go to the beach.  The dad was impatient because he did not want to wait on the rest of them.  Instead of enjoying their long-awaited vacation, family after family looked miserable.    

Now, I get that!  I used to be (and sometimes still am) the grouchy, impatient dad.  However, I wanted to say to those families, “You would have a much better day if you tried being compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, and patient!”  By the way, it is worth remembering that those five words describe how God deals with us. 

               When we act in Godly ways, we find the blessings of God.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Consider This: What is so Great About Grace?

If you were to drive by our house, you would see that Sara loves plants.  Our yard is full of flowers, and Sara lovingly tends every one of them. Which is why I was so afraid when she left town and put me in charge of keeping things alive. She must have been a little concerned, too, because she sent me two videos with specific instructions on how to water, when to water, and what to do.  Honestly, those first two videos helped, but the third one she sent was the one I liked most.  In that one, she said, “Please do your best. I want the yard to look good for the family reunion in two weeks.  However, if something dies, we will dig it out and pretend that it never existed!” That is what grace looks like!  Try your best, do what you can, but if it goes wrong, it will be ok. Sometimes we talk as though grace and effort are opposites.  That is not true.  They are partners. In one place, scripture asks, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone c...
Post a Comment
Read more

New Article: Thanksgiving in Real Time

                    Thanksgiving weekend means that many of us will spend time together with family and friends, eat a lot of food and think about what we are thankful for in our lives.   Unfortunately, after that, most will go back to their normal routines and leave thankfulness behind.                   What would happen if thanksgiving were part of our everyday life, rather than something we focused on a few times per year?   Where would we even start?                 According to Philippians 1:18-26, the apostle Paul remained joyful and thankful, even while imprisoned for his faith, by holding on to three important practic...
Post a Comment
Read more

Do You See the Angel?

          In the gospels, the story of Jesus’ birth is preceded by the prediction of the birth of “John the Baptist”.              John’s father, Zechariah, was a priest at the temple in Jerusalem.   One day, while he was burning incense to God, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and said, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John” (Luke 1:13).               This was surprising news to Zechariah and so he asks, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years” (verse 18).   That is a logical question, right?   I mean, he is asking for a sign so that he can believe something that seems quite unbelievable.   Who would fault him for that?        ...
Post a Comment
Read more