CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON -- The Moral of the Story

“Each of us has a capacity for God and an ability to relate to Him in

a personal way. When we do, He brings to us pardon for the past, peace

for the present and a promise for the future.”

-- Ralph S. Bell

God blessed me with a summer of rich relationships. From the moment

school bells stopped ringing, our phone and doorbell rang with one

special person after another. Though each encounter with different

friends and family was unique, there were certain similarities. In each

case, we shared a love of God, love for one another and loved catching up

with each other.

One highlight was an evening that my husband, Jon, and I spent with

several different friends from college. We became good friends because we

were all very active in the same church group. We had not seen one of the

couples in 25 years.

We’ve only seen one of the other couples occasionally because they are

missionaries in Thailand and don’t come to the States often. But the

years disappeared and it felt like old times as we shared what God had

been doing in our lives.

“The only thing missing is that someone should have a guitar and we

should be singing ‘Kum Ba Yah, My Lord, Kum Ba Yah,”’ one of our friends

said.

We all laughed because, though there is nothing wrong with the song,

it seemed like we sang it one too many million times in our meetings and

church retreats.

We caught up with each other as best we could in the short amount of

time we had. When we parted that night someone said, “Let’s not let so

much time go by before we see each other again.”

I hope that is true, but even with all our modern technology, it’s

hard to find time to communicate and stay connected with everybody. But

relationships do take time, especially if they are to deepen and grow.

Like any friendship, our relationship with God takes time together. A

friend of mine recently explained that she realized this truth

powerfully.

“I forgot that God wanted to be personally involved with me,” she

said. “In the back of my mind, I knew God hadn’t left me, but I’d slowly

pulled away from him. I was embarrassed by some choices I’d made, but

then I saw an old sign that said, ‘If you feel far from God, guess who

moved.’

“I realized God hadn’t gone anywhere. The wonderful thing was how

loved and welcomed I felt when I called out to God after so many years. I

didn’t think he’d really want to relate to me because I wasn’t proud of

the person I had become. But I got serious about changing and got serious

about God again. Now I’m actually excited about each new day.”

One of the many wonders about God is that he is always available. We

don’t have to wait for certain times of the year or occasional reunions

to reconnect with him. We don’t have to ask him to try to schedule us in.

He is always there, always excited to connect with us. God is only a

prayer away.

And you can quote me on that.

* CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks

frequently to parenting groups. She may be reached via e-mail at o7

cindy@onthegrow.comf7 or through the mail at P.O. Box 6140-No. 505,

Newport Beach, CA 92658.

r