investing without strings

i was in a conversation a few days ago in which we were talking about loving others. the conversation rotated around a specific situation that reflected a greater representation to me about our intentions in relationships. as i began to think through all the intricate parts of our heart that we expose when we invest in one another, i continued to come back to the simplicity of investing without strings attached. throughout our lives we form relationships on all different kinds of levels. as relationships form, investments of time, energy, tears, laughter, love and hard ache all begin to embed themselves in the casing of our heart. it becomes almost natural to attach ourselves to the person or circumstance that we have invested in. but there is a danger when those investments that we have made all begin to pull at the same time. i fear that we will find ourselves broken and worn down in efforts to keep strings attached. if this is so, it is inevitable that our heart will be weighted down by thread. i most certainly believe that people and circumstances have an affect on our daily lives. we need one another. we learn and grow from our interactions with one another. but, when we try to find life in people and things and places, we are going to come up empty. for people and things and places are not perfect, they will fail us. we will fail one another. but praise be to God that there is life given to us through His son, Jesus. what a blissful thought, life everlasting found in the creator. i desperately want that life to always be what brings life to this heart of mine. i cherish the people in my life that God has blessed me with. i can see His fingerprints all over the circumstances of my life. which gives me a whole new perspective on investing into the lives of others, because i don't want it to be about the weight of what i did or said. i don't want to invest with ulterior motives. i want to invest with a pure heart. i pray that we will be a people who invest in the lives of others only to point them back to the source of life, not to attach another thread.