it all comes down to this

I've gotta be honest. I was blown away by how many of you related with my friendship insecurities. Isn't it crazy how alone we can feel in certain things, only to discover we are all more alike than different? As I kept thinking about it all, I realized something.

Relationships are stewardships.

They are gifts. Loans, really...

I am given them to safeguard. To nurture. To cherish.

And while I am responsible for how I handle my relationships, they are not mine to keep or control. More importantly, the people in my life are not mine to keep or control.

Ever.

When I hold a person too tightly, I begin to squeeze the life out of them and our friendship.

Just like everything else I'm entrusted with, I am called to hold my relationships loosely.

I don't mean carelessly, or with lack of regard. I mean with an open hand rather than a tight fist.

I mean living in the awareness that none of this begins or ends with me.

We are all His. And the relationships I have are because He has orchestrated them. I want to love my friends like I know that to be true.

So going toe-to-toe with my insecurity isn't so much about trusting others more.

It's about trusting Him more.

What else is new?