[306 words]
Not too long ago I read the story of a farmer who was just devastated over the fact that his barn’s roof fell in. Someone asked the farmer, “what happened?” The farmer told the one asking the question that the roof had been leaking so long that the timbers just rotted through.
Of course, one’s initial thought is why did he let the roof get so bad before fixing it? Here was the farmer’s response: “Well…it just seemed…when the weather was good, there weren’t no need for it, and when it rained, it was too wet to work on it.”
I find that relationships are much like that old barn in the story. Could it be that some of our relationships are on the brink of collapsing because efforts have not been made all along to strengthen their infrastructure? What do you think will happen to that relationship when the next major storm of life develops?
How many marriages will fall apart tomorrow because, while at the moment things are good, constant efforts are not being made to strengthen the resolve to love one another “until death do us part” (Eph. 5:19ff)?
How many children will leave home never to communicate with father and mother again because at this very moment fathers are not getting involved in the lives of their children, and mothers are not instilling discipline in their children to grow up to be faithful Christians (Eph. 6:1-4)?
While today may be a good day, and I hope that it is, don’t forget that tomorrow a storm could come and it will all fall apart if efforts are not made each day to strengthen those relationships.
Want to have good, healthy relationships? Commit regularly to the little things so that when the big issues arise, the roof doesn’t collapse!
Neil Richey
Marietta, GA