Restoring Relationships

 

Some things in life need our constant attention. A garden won’t grow healthy fruits and vegetables or flowers without the constant care of a good gardener. Someone has to do the work of tending to the garden if you want the plants to flourish. Sometimes there are weeds to pull or dead branches to trim, but always there is the job of watering and caring for the plants. Important relationships are like that. They only flourish in our lives when we tend to them. Things happen, like misunderstandings, and hurt feelings can be the result. Someone has to take the initiative to mend the relationship. If the relationship is left unattended, husbands and wives will drift apart, and hurt unattended will separate the closest of friends.

Several years ago while living in Argentina, I left my family for the evening to attend a service. I drove across a bridge that spanned the Paraná River. When I returned, the bridge was closed, and I couldn’t get home. Though I was only a little over a mile away, I was cut off from my family.

I walked to a little fishing village up stream and inquired if there were any fisherman who had an available boat to take me across. It took a while, but I finally found someone. The mayonero, as they were called, had certainly had one too many drinks, so I was a little apprehensive as to whether or not he would really get me across. As we were making our way across the mammoth river, I noticed substantial water getting in the boat. I asked the man, “Aren’t you worried about the water in the boat?” He replied, “No, it can handle twice that much before we sink.” The trip across the river seemed like forever, but we finally arrived on the other side, and I disembarked right in the middle of a beach party. I got the stares as I got out of the fishing boat wearing a suit and carrying a brief case, but it didn’t matter because I would be home in a few short minutes.

Maybe you find yourself cut off from some family member or friend today. For some unexpected reason the path to clear communication and friendship is closed. I encourage you to find a way to get across the barriers and restore the relationship. Your marriage, your son, your daughter, your parent or your friend is worth the sacrifice. Find out what has come between you and let them know you value the relationship. If you have done wrong, then by all means be quick to apologize and ask forgiveness. Life is simply too short to live another day without restoring the relationships that really matter in our lives.