Members and Friends of Austin Mennonite Church I pray you are comforted as you journey through experiences that sometimes challenge and confuse us. When attempting to instructor others in the procedure recommended for accomplishing a specific task, eventually we realize it is helpful if students first understand inherent characteristics which expose the reason for proceeding in the selected fashion. Knowing why a particular set of actions has been chosen helps us more confidently to apply new knowledge to perform a new task. Perhaps this is true of life in general. The more we understand why certain behaviors are more beneficial than others, both in their application and in their consequences, the better we can choose in becoming what we want our lives to be. Relationships are one of those inherent characteristics that affect our growth and maturity. Are there reasons behind the structure and function of relationships that might help us understand better their purpose? As we develop in our comprehension of our individuality and of life around us, we must make adjustments in our relationships according to discoveries we make along the way. Knowing something about what is happening in this process, the reasons why we change, might make our transitions more inviting and less disturbing. These thoughts will compose the sermon for this next Sunday, 'Deciphering reasons for relationship.' May it go well with you. Sincerely, Garland Robertson ...always hold firmly to the thought that each one of us can do something to bring some portion of misery to an end