Ladies and gentlemen.  I'm on the soapbox again and it's not a good thing.

First of all I must say that the key to a successful relationship with anyone must start with a successful relationship with God!

We all want a worthwhile and fulfilling relationship at some point in our lives.  But you can't expect to meet Mr. or Mrs. Right if you can't acknowledge the Father in the morning and thank him for repairing your mind and body while you slept or for even waking you up at all!  For blessing you with a home, nourishing food, warmth (or cool air, depending on the season and where you live) and clothes.  And even though God blesses us with transportation to reach the job that He blessed us with, we complain about the monthly mortgage payment, the rising cost of groceries, utilities and clothing.  The car that we need that isn't the luxury SUV that we want.  And the employer that we feel doesn't pay us enough while we do almost nothing there!

We don't speak to God to express our love for Him, we don't thank Him for the seen and unseen dangers that we avoid daily.  He is the One who protects everything that we own, our friends, our families, our health, our minds, our bodies and our souls, yet we perpetually take him for granted!  Without Him, we would have absolutely nothing!

If we treated a lover this way, we would be kicked to the curb in one day!  You can't deny that at all!  But no matter how much we ignore and take Him for granted, He's always right there!

Now, believe me, I'm guilty of these things too, I'm not perfect and I would be the last to point fingers when I know that three would be pointed in my direction!  Yes, I too, need to exercise my faith more!  But if we want to fulfill our desires, we gotta fulfill His.

So, look at it this way.  How can you dream of having a dealership one day, when you never change the oil, get a tune-up or even change the tires for your own car!  I'm no expert, yet.  But I now believe that if we can handle the responsibility of loving God and His people, unconditionally, he'll put us in the position to be with someone who will love us unconditionally! 

So for everyone reading this, you now have a homework assignment for the last two thirds of the year.  You must treat our Father with love and kindness, building a relationship with Him, to put yourself in position to have God add another strong relationship unto you!  Even if you have to email this to six people you know to represent the six degrees of separation, do it!  Remember, for the last eight months of the year, to meet the right person, you have to be the right person!!

Maurice Clark, President www.shopping-flat.com .