Everyone should have at least one relationship that hurts. I'm not talking about abuse, that is one of the most awful things that can happen to a person, but a relationship so heavy it hurts. What I did this morning is what made me think about this.

Today I dropped my wife and four month old son off at the airport. They are travelling back to Indiana for a week to spend time with family. I went in to help with the bags and to get as much time with them as I could before they left. I was a little sad, but as we were walking down the moving sidewalk toward security I figured the week would go quickly and they'd be back before I knew it. I gave them both a hug and a kiss and they proceeded to go through the security checkpoint. (With the only problem being the spit up my son decided to place on the airport floor.) They got through the checkpoint and turned to wave goodbye, I started crying. I'm not even sure where it came from. I just know that I was standing there holding three baby books that put my wife's suitcase over the weight limit crying. I'm sure that was an interesting sight for anyone looking.

I can't explain to you even now what exactly I was feeling as I stood there. Sure, I was sad. I knew that I would miss them, but I will see them again in a week. The only way I can explain it is that my relationship with my wife and son is heavy, it is real. I am tied to them in a deep and mysterious way that is beyond words I know. Today my relationship with my wife and son hurt, in a good, real, life-giving way. And that is why I say that everyone needs a relationship that hurts. Relationships were meant to be deep and meaningful and real. The fact that so many relationships are shallow and meaningless is just one more indicator that the world's not right. And when relationships hurt, like they did today, we are reaching for what is right and moving away from what is wrong.