Intimacy

Merriam-Webster defines the word intimate as to communicate directly and delicately. I don’t know about you, but that is certainly a characteristic I would like the relationships in my life to have. I am a wife and a mother so intimacy takes on many forms in my household. Intimacy isn’t the first word that comes to mind when thinking about parent-child relationships, but when I look at the definition above, it is one I want to strive for. I certainly communicate directly to my children, but how delicate am I? Too often intimacy is mistaken as simply a physical attribute of a relationship when it really it is so much more.
My husband, Bryson, and I were talking Sunday afternoon about Andy’s message. You see, Bryson’s story was similar to the story that was shared. He grew up going in a very religious household regulated by rules. It wasn’t that his parents didn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ – they did – but they also felt it brutally important to live by certain rules. To quote Bryson, “I grew up with so many rules, that when I went to college and didn’t have any, I went wild.” Lucky for both of us, Bryson never lost sight of what was most important.

Our conversation didn’t stop there – what really got me was how Bryson related his ability – or lack thereof - to be intimate with God with his level of intimacy with his own father. Because his father hadn’t shown him what it meant to have a close, delicate, relationship, my husband was sailing uncharted waters when it came to experiencing God. I hadn’t thought about it that way, but for someone whose family life may have lacked intimacy it may be extremely difficult to be intimate with anyone else. Intimacy may not be something that is always taught, but it certainly is modeled.

After hearing my husband relate his struggles with being intimate back to his relationship with his father, I thought back to how the 3 points Andy outlined on how to cultivate intimacy with God can really apply in many interpersonal relationships.

1) Give the relationship your time. This one may be the easiest of the 3 --still difficult for many, but pretty self explanatory.

2) Be transparent. This is hard for most of us – possibly even harder with someone important to us versus with God.

3) Submission. Ugh. There is that word again. But, undoubtedly the most powerful of the 3. If you submit to God, your life will be forever changed.

So I challenge you this week to look for opportunities to be more intimate with the God that made you. Personally, I am going to start with the R-rated prayers. Sure, He knows everything about you, but do you know everything about Him???