I was watching an interview with Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson. To my surprise, the subject was not football but relationship. If you know the history of this owner of the Dallas Cowboys (Jones) and the coach who won two back-to-back Super Bowls for him, (Johnson) you may remember the sparks that often flew between these two strong personalities. Eventually, Jones and Johnson were exchanging jabs at one another in the press. Their relationship was in decline and finally they separated. Their relationship had failed.
In the interview, Johnson spoke of a time when he discussed the situation with the legendary San Francisco 49er’s coach Bill Walsh. In an attempt to provide perspective on their fracture, Walsh commented, “You got careless with your relationship.”
That simple yet profound statement caused me to reflect on my, too numerous, lost relationships. People came to mind who I worked for, people that worked for me, people that I knew through church and community involvement all the way to the guy next store. I realized that I was the culprit in some of the fractures, in others instances that the other person did the severing and in some cases I really couldn’t identify what had happened. My reflection made me determined to make my existing and future relationships last the test of time.
(To be continued.)
