NOTE: Many thanks to good friend Joan S. for writing the devotional below and for her thoughtful input on the questions and actions shared…

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When my husband and I purchased our first pieces of upholstered furniture back in the ’80s, “better” furniture was touted as having “8-way hand tied springs.” Advertisements pictured artisans securing the furniture’s springs by hand in eight directions for optimum support. That phrase has become for me an image of those times when I have felt securely tied into life through the love, caring, and friendship of those around me.

The thing about 8-way hand-tied springs is that we don’t always think of them, yet they provide continuous, quality support. It seems to me good relationships are similar. They meet us and accept us at a deep place, well below the surface veneer and fancy upholstery with which we mask and protect our vulnerable selves. And that support helps us weather the challenges and encourages us to grow into all we are meant to be. The wondrous thing is that not only are we held securely but we, too, provide that support for others. At their core these relationships, grounded in unconditional love or what Fr. Greg Boyles calls the “no-matter-whatness of God,” require us to risk vulnerability. In return we gain relationships that bind us securely to all of life and draw us to wholeness. What a source of joy and gratitude, this gift of true relationship!

QUESTIONS: Is vulnerability encouraged in our culture?  What does it mean to be vulnerable? How does it feel to be vulnerable? Is vulnerability an essential quality of true relationship?

ACTION: “If you’d like, spend a few minutes reflecting on one or more of the following:

1. who have been important artisans in your 8-way hand-tied support network?
   1. how did they effectively do that for you?
   2. what are the qualities in the relationship that allowed that to happen?
2. How can you pay it forward for your own 8-way hand-tied support network?
3. If trust and vulnerability are important qualities of supportive relationships, how are you called to respond in those situations?

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

Lectionary Texts for this Sunday, June 18, 2017:

• Genesis 18:1-15, (21:1-7) and Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19
• Exodus 19:2-8a and Psalm 100
• Romans 5:1-8
• Matthew 9:35-10:8, (9-23)