THREE ANGELS BROADCASTING NETWORK DEVOTIONAL
The Neglected Relationship

By Yvonne Shelton October 29th

“That they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments.” Psalm 78:7

Kelly* and I consider ourselves as family. In fact, we introduce each other as cousins. We met as teenagers and “clicked” immediately! Kelly is bright, beautiful, talented, and funny. Over the years, we’ve shared each other’s burdens and celebrated our triumphs. It always amazed us that our lives seemed to run parallel courses, and both of us chose career paths in the entertainment industry. She was a very gifted singer, and became very well known in her local area.

She was also very wise about people—and more specifically, wise about how to navigate relationships; so, in my single years, I would often call her for advice. She would tell me that I needed to be a little tougher, and I always admired how she could easily walk away from a relationship that wasn’t working well. Kelly was a strong, self-confident woman who didn’t let anyone take advantage of her.​

Our spiritual lives were also running in the same direction for a while. Having both been raised as Seventh-day Adventist Christians, but also having both left the church for several years, we found ourselves seeking spiritual answers. We were both re-baptized around the same time in the late 80s, and then subsequently conducted choirs in our churches in different states.​

Over the years, Kelly and I could talk about anything and not judge each other, but mutually respect our right to believe as we chose, even if we disagreed. We could express our own positions, but leave the conversation without anger at one another. She began embracing more New Age philosophies, and I became a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine—again, parallel courses.

Then, at one point, I was led away from my New Age ideas, but Kelly still embraced them. I went into full-time ministry and became more conservative, and although we then had less in common, we still had love for one another. She would call or text me and I would plan to get back to her, but I didn’t follow through. It’s really a form of lying to say you’re going to call someone and not follow through. What kind of witness was I giving to her?​

Eventually, she got fed up and just didn’t call anymore; and I was so caught up in my own life that I just let it go—a classic case of taking a relationship for granted. Then I heard that she’d had surgery, so I reached out to see how she was doing. When I received a chilly reception, I asked her if she angry with me, and she opened up. She told me that our relationship from over the years really required a conversation. Was I still her friend? Had my life changed so much that we no longer had anything in common, and I just decided to release the friendship?​

I realized what I had done, and owned it. I apologized profusely for taking our relationship for granted. How could I have been so negligent of a relationship that had meant so much to me? She and I patched things up, and we’re back to interacting the way we always did, communicating more regularly. I am now much more intentional about my follow-through with her.

After pondering my relationship with Kelly, it dawned on me, Isn’t this just what we do to Jesus? We aren’t intentional in our communication with Him. We take His love and care for granted, thinking, It will always be there. How that must hurt Him! Why do we lie to Him and say we’re going to do better, only to go our own way and plug into Him when it’s convenient?​

We need to evaluate the depth of our response to a love as great as the love of Jesus, and never take it for granted!

*Kelly is a pseudonym.