Radical relationships are those that have a fundamental effect on who we are.

After being married for just a year, we moved to North Dakota because my husband was in the Air Force. I had no idea what I was doing. 

Soon after moving, I had a newborn baby, was thrown into military life, and had to adjust to a cold, and foreign climate all in the span of three months. This was also the first time I had been out of my home state of Texas for any length of time.

I remember going to a ladies Bible study and this lady named Mary shared something about what she believed the Bible said that was very contrary to what I grew up learning and I instantly put-up barriers. I remember even leaving the Bible study early because I was so upset about what she said.

I went home and talked to my husband, William, about it, but what she said stayed dancing around in my head for a couple of weeks. Then one day I ran into her at the grocery store. She came up and talked to me and asked me to meet over a lunch. Not much later I found myself having a mentor for the first time.

I didn’t always like what she said…I remember her talking to me about the way I addressed my husband in front of other people. She guided me in cleaning my house, loving my husband, and being a godly wife in ways that I had never heard of. She was also the catalyst that God used in my life to start a journey with Jesus where I was able to learn from His word and not just thinking I already knew it all.

About a year after we met, she moved away. The impact she had on me was huge, and still resonates in my life. Our relationship was radical…it affected who I was then and who I am today. 

What about you? Take some time to think about someone you have had a radical relationship with. Someone that affected who you are today.

How can we have relationships that are not just on the surface but ones that impact the core of who we are? 

What would it look like to have a radical relationship with God? One where we didn’t just give him access to the outside of us…what others saw…but we let him in to the deep parts of our soul. And once there, we would allow Him to change us in places that we might not even know exist?

And honestly, do we even want to?

What are some things that you think might be holding you back from having a radical relationship with God?

Exploring the dark crevices and closed doors of our lives is difficult and sometimes scary.

Do you know God in a way that you feel you can trust Him with those parts of your life?

Prayer:

God, I know you, but I want to know you more.

I feel a bit unsure about the process, but I want to trust you with it. Teach me how to allow you to affect the core of who I am. Amen – So be it