Ancient Hebrew tradition is filled with stories of God crafting covenants and of familial relationships which (often imperfectly) reflect the relationships that God seeks with human kind. At their best, those relationships are the bearers of two gifts:
Love and blessing…the security of knowing that we are loved and the promise of a future all our own. Growth is not possible without both gifts.
They are the gifts that God gives to us and they are the gifts we give to others in life’s more intimate and enduring relationships. The engine of all spiritual and emotional growth and health lies in receiving and giving both.