Relationships

Today as I sit by my warm cozy fire having a Strong cup of java to start the day I am processing through the idea of relationships. Why are we often faced with uncomfortable situations  that often deal  with people in our lives? What I mean really  is, why do we have broken relationships? I wish we could live in a world where we all get along, I wish things wouldn't be so hard somethings with family and good friends, you know what I mean? But it is, because we live in a world that is not perfect. And because we are all individuals with our own ideas on how to live and be, we get caught up in stuff that really just doesn't matter. And we let that stuff become our life. Leaving no room in our lives for what is or could be important. God teaches us to love our neighbours as ourselves, He teaches us the basic human response we should have is love. Why is that so hard sometimes? I find it almost easier to love a stranger sometimes on the streets of Edmonton than sometimes loving someone I  know well who is being unkind...Why is loving someone sometimes one of the most difficult things in our lives? John 13:34 teaches us clearly "God has given me one new commandment that I should love others just as He has loved me" God loved us so much He sent His Son to die on that wooden cross for US...That is love...How do we live into that? Colossians teaches us to 'put on love' ... We may all know these truths in our heads but sometimes it is so hard to live it within our hearts...truly loving someone  that is hard to love...that is being difficult, that has hurt you, that you don't trust, and on and on it goes...my thought today is...we go on...one day at a time...loving the best way we know how...We have the best Teacher ... we have the Word with us...we know the truth  ... so we pick up each day...knowing the truth and trying to live into that. Living in the truth that 'let us love one another for love is from God' 1 John 7:7. You see I am a firm believer that we are all living out of something...some type of brokenness and we react from that. So if and when we come across individuals in our life that are a bit hard to understand if we can see them for who they truly are...children of God living out the life that they best can...if we can see that, our hearts towards them might become less hardened. We may understand them more...see them more clearly...in a way we have never before. I also really believe we will always have people in our lives that challenges us...as that may be a way that God is trying to mold us and make us more into Him...as we are asked to be more compassionate, kind, caring, loving, better listeners, more hospitable more understating...what ever God is trying to do to us...we need to also remember that maybe just maybe we may be the ones at times that are difficult and not easy to live with...yikes...:) It's not an easy journey living out life here...it was never promised it would be easy.But we can make our lives easier by reacting in a more loving way to situations that we find ourselves in...it feels so much better to forgive than staying angry for days on end. The awesome thing is that God did promise He will only give us what we can handle and He promised that through Him we can do much...HIS power HIS forgiveness  HIS love HIS peace .... We can do all things through HIM...So brothers and sisters...Love like Jesus loves...seek that out this week...
Going to make a fresh pot of coffee....? And looking really forward to my tacos tonight...not a new dish but a good one just the same...