Yoked
The funny thing about the word relationship is that it can mean various things to different people at specific times.
Life-affirming one minute, and a debilitating crutch the next.
The trusty and reliable clock you set your days by, or a ticking time bomb set to rob you of every second that counts.
The certainty and security of a well-lit path or one slowly segueing into the obscure quicksand of foreign laws on homeland.
Had candour been in play, a plebeian Hamlet (scion of generations of piscators) may well have whispered, "faire ou ne pas faire"* when offered the chance to venture into uncharted waters. Thus avoiding both boats and men unwittingly entangled in the net of a union with bigger fish to fry...**
Mariticde rears its ugly head outside of a 'true crime' series; horror senseless even by today's standards. Two people seemingly trapped in a loveless and respect-free marriage, one of whom decided to opt out by skewering any chance of reconciliation. What price companionship? What price love?***
The seasonality of common interests can by necessity be fleeting. Trying to establish permanence in anything God has not ordained is doomed to failure. With every other link, we move on regretfully yet graciously once the time has come - hopefully before resentment and disaster come into play.
The difference between being yoked and joined is that the former is a constant strain, however the latter comes with ease.
And yes, we quite often make mistakes; guilty of stringing things out or even beginning a relationship at all. Especially when the writing is on the wall from day one. But the upside is this same living and learning forms the backdrop of our testimonies.
A couple of years ago, I had to ask myself what unnecessary burdens I was carrying because of relationships I was maintaining way past their sell-by date.
They weren't happy thoughts.
And neither - for the most part - was what I had to do next.
People, places, memories, sentiments...all sharply excised.
Less malice, more self-care.
Pain that pays dividends.
Time has taught me that the only ties with any permanence are red and inextricable. Anything - no matter how short-lived - that isn't tinged with the redemptive, life-giving Blood of my Saviour is burdensome, tiring and on my no-no-noooo list.
Without them, the exceptional, noteworthy and remarkable are in sight.
Reasons to be cheerful and very, very grateful.
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📖 Stop forming inappropriate relationships with unbelievers. Can right and wrong be partners? Can light have anything in common with darkness? Can Christ agree with the devil? Can a believer share life with an unbeliever?
2 Corinthians 6:14-15 GW (YouVersion)
*French for “to do or not to do?”. Shakespearan character Hamlet famously pondered “to be or not to be”.
📷 Madhu Shesharam (rawpixel)