Intentionally Relational

Intentionally Relational.  That's it.  That's my "catch phrase" for the new year approaching.  It's so much more than catchy phrase or lofty ideal.  It is my heart's desire.  My passion.  I love people. I love nurturing heart connections. I love communicating openly, lovingly, and intentionally.  It is not always easy though.

Have you ever felt misunderstood?  Misrepresented?  Misplaced in the grand scheme of life and love?  Of family and friends? It stinks, it hurts, it really crushes if you are someone who really loves being relational.  Someone who loves deeply, can grieve deeply when that love is not reciprocated or when that love is misunderstood.  

Some people invest most of their lives communicating love to their family and friends.  Actions often speaking louder than words.  Parents experience this with their children.  A parent's needs are often secondary to that of her children.  The need for her children to feel loved, cherished, and protected is primal, a part of her innermost being. Spouses experience this as they row through life's waters together.  Sometimes bailing out the boat and other times gliding down the stream with relative ease, but all the while communicating love and commitment. 

This year has definitely held many amazing moments.  So many celebrations have taken place in my heart and in the hearts of those that I love. Thankfulness abounds!  If I were being very honest though, I would have to say that this year has also been a very heartbreaking year.  I have felt misrepresented, misplaced, and above all misunderstood for quite some time now. I have done some serious soul searching to see how I can change this tide, how to navigate this stormy side of life that honestly caught me off guard.  Maybe that is a problem in itself.  Being "on guard" hardly allows for intentional, honest communication.  Relationships suffer if walls are built up to shelter the heart.  

So, although it may be "safer" to retreat into our self made shelters, are we really being relational?  Are we sincerely seeking to intentionally connect our hearts with others even if we may be disappointed from time to time?  Or even if we may be the source of disappointment from time to time?  

Being intentionally relational is experiencing life on life with others.  No holds barred.  No barriers. Loving others where they are.  Loving others for who they are.  Believing the best about others.  Asking the sometimes tough questions and COMMUNICATING in order to alleviate any false assumptions. Looking at the big picture.  Being focused on someone's heart and not their flaws because really, we are all flawed.  Above all, in my mind,  being intentionally relational is seeking the very best for other people.  Giving them our very true selves.  The real us.  No walls, no falsehoods, no judgements, no selfish conditions.  Only love and life.  That's my heart's desire.  That's my passion. 

Intentionally relational.  That's my catch phrase for 2015.  How about you?  What is your desire for this new year ahead?

Hugs, 

Melissa