My reflections

Which relationships do you turn to first when youʼre looking for guidance and support? Does your relationship with God have the same sort of dynamic interaction as some of your other relationships? Should it?
When i first need guidance and support, for things not concerning boys, i usually go to my mom. another person i go to is my best friend Clare, but she doesn't live near me, so i don't consult her as often. unfortunately last on the list is God. i usually become really desperate before i consult Him. but once i do talk to Him, i truly feel at easy in a way that a friend or my mom could never make me feel. this process of 'going thru people' usually doesn't take me even all day, so if i have a problem in the beginning or middle of the day, usually by the afternoon i have prayed about it and asked God's advice. my relationship and interactions with God have a friend-like quality and it has a parent/authority-like quality at the same time, which is a relationship that can only be experienced with God and Jesus. the things about my relationship with God that make it more like a FRIENDship are the fact that i can be casual with God. i don't have to carefully word my thoughts and opinions so that God can relate. God already speaks my language and totally can relate to what i am feeling and experiencing because he knows exactly what it is like to be a teenager today because He is all knowing ect. also it is like a FRIENDship because with really close friends i can be completely honest and i can be myself, which is how i act with God. My relationship with God is similar to my relationship with my mom because she gives me advice that is based on prior experience and knowledge and she always genuinely has my best interests and safety at heart, like God. i believe that my relationship with God SHOULD be similar to my other relationships but it should also be SO MUCH MORE than that. it should be something that i cannot experience with someone else, and that is one of the things that should make that relationship appealing.

Would you describe yourself as someone who seeks reconciliation, whether for yourself – reconciliation between you and God or between you and other people – or for others whom you help to reconcile with God? What are some situations you see in your world that could use reconciliation?
i do not see myself as someone who seeks reconciliation because that requires that i confront the person that i am at odds with, and i hate confrontations of ANY kind. i do however often seek reconciliation with God a lot because i know that that is what i am called to do as a Christian. also it is a lot easier to reconcile with God because i know that no matter how many times i am at odds with Him he will always want me back and He will always love me no matter what i do, which is not always the case with friends because love from one's friends is usually conditional. our world could use reconciliation between countries as a whole, which is obvious, such as between America and the middle east, specifically Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

What is the importance of relationships – both vertically with God and horizontally with others? Why do you need both? What are you doing in response to Godʼs purpose?
relationships are important because one cannot get through life on their own. you need reaction between humans to survive, and that is a scientific fact. also because you cannot handle life alone, you need the advice and guidance of other people. humans are designed to need love to function and feel happy, and the main way we get this love is thru relationships with people, therefore because love is necessary to survive, and relationships provide that love, relationships are necessary for survival. we need both kinds of relationships-relationships with friends and with God-because friends cannot ultimately fulfill us. we are designed to know love that is unconditional, and the only way we can get that is through knowing God. i know this because every girl is born with the need for the perfect guy who will love her no matter what. She will never find this guy who fits all the qualities she needs on earth, because the only person who is perfect and capable of satisfying us and the only person who truly fits her standards is God. so when women and men search for love, they are searching for God.