When Kourtney was a little girl, a man came up to me and
started yelling at me because I had accidentally tapped his car with mine. We were parked, but I tapped him when I took
my foot off the brake. There was no
damage done, I was fully in the wrong and truly sorry, but the guy was clearly
upset. After he yelled obscenities at me
and walked away, my three year old stared at me, sobbing, and cried, “I didn’t
know bad guys were real!”
We have quoted that often as the girls have been growing
up. It is always a harsh and
disappointing reality to come to grips with the fact that there are really bad
guys in this world. I have had that quote go through my head a couple times
over the past week while interacting with others. Not that these people have
been “bad guys,” but I have just found myself discouraged in the knowledge that
not everyone is easy to deal with.
That is not new information. I know that I, myself, am not
always easy to deal with. I find myself getting my feelings hurt too easily,
feeling overwhelmed daily, and wanting to just slip away, unnoticed, from even
the smallest of conflicts or challenges. However, there is a greater part of me
that wants to grow. Sure, people don’t always say what they mean or mean what
they say. Sometimes I am misunderstood and don’t feel known at all. The question is how can I grow in those moments?
I spend a fair amount of time listening to podcasts,
sermons, and in the Bible app on my phone. I listen to worship music and
genuinely long to grow more and more like Jesus. Yet, when I’m faced with difficult relational
issues, I have a long way to go. Let’s just say there is lots of room for
improvement. Focusing on that fact can cause me to feel so discouraged that I
just want to withdraw and avoid people altogether. Obviously, that is not the
answer. I’m asking God today to help me. Help me to grow. Help me to be different.
Help me to reflect Jesus so that others leave my presence knowing and seeing
Him more.
I'd love to get feedback on practical ways you've learned to manage tricky relationships in your lives and see authentic growth in your own lives. Anyone?
