An extraordinary adventure in daily life

One of the greatest pleasures in living the last 2 months in Stavanger is to see how much God bless us through the growth of relationships. Of course, I could see this also back in Brazil, my home country. It is just that now, being abroad and learning again the basic stuff about life — like how to speak a different language and how to greet people in another culture — , every single detail on getting to know and relating to other people seems clearer.

Maybe, it is as if I am looking to the way people connect around me through other eyes. First through the eyes of the the extraordinary unknown, but now through the eyes of the affection of small things. And by “small things” I mean the way we connect to people in daily and necessary routines, like shopping groceries with ones roommate or inviting friends to help with kitchen cleaning at the church. In this small gestures, the simple “how are you today?” and “tell me what you did last weekend!”, can actually be powerful and meaningful if done based on true affection and care.

I have seen and experienced how much relationships can grow if we are really open to see and, most of all, listen to others. That is one of the things I am learning the most: first listen, and then think carefully once, think carefully twice, and speak only if that can show love to the other person. I know it is hard! But from that we can experience the joy of seeing acquaintances becoming friends, and colleagues becoming family. Above all, I am sure that God is the centre and the reason why we “live, move, and exist” (Acts 17:28), so He is also the reason why we connect to people. Relationships are an extraordinary adventure, but also a blessed challenge.