I read an interesting research study that looked at the actions we can take to create the emotion of happiness. You might think at the top of the list would be going on vacation or receiving a gift of some kind. But the study showed that “the emotion of happiness is a sense that comes when you are helpful when your purpose is tied to helping someone else”. In other words, we are the happiest and the healthiest when we are loving and serving other people.
The longer I live, the more I understand how important loving, serving relationships are, and how important it is to be in a community with one another. We were never meant to live our life isolated as an island unto ourselves. God intended us to be in community with one another, to motivate and strengthen and support one another. The writer of Ecclesiastes says, “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other one can reach out and help”. That’s the healthy way to live.
If you’re going to live a successful life, you have to understand that the people whom God has put in your life are important and worth developing a strong relationship and community with. And you need to realize that good relationship are a two-way street. It’s as much about what you give as what you receive. The Bible tells us “to encourage one another daily” – Hebrews 3 verse 13. It doesn’t say, “Wait around to be encouraged”. It says, “Have an exchange of encouragement daily where we find help and growth. We’re meant to be together. We’re better together.
Did you know that the giant redwood trees in Northern California grow 350-feet tall and 22-feet wide at the base, yet their roots are only 5 to 6 feet deep? It seems impossible that these incredibly tall trees have such shallow roots. However, the roots spread wide, extending up to 100 feet out, and intertwine and even fuse with the roots of the other trees. This network of support gives them tremendous strength to withstand high winds and floods. And the redwoods find nutrition with one another, which helps them survive in periods of drought.
If we could be as united in our lives as those redwood trees are, I believe we could withstand any of life’s storms and droughts. Whom are you intertwined with today? When you give them your greatest commodity, which is you, it makes all the difference in the world. When you intertwine your life with others’ lives, they will stand strong and you will stand strong.
Together, you’ll grow with the strength and blessings of God! Ll
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