Love one another

Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.  I am the Lord.   Leviticus 19:18

If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.  And this commandment we have from him:  whoever loves God must also love his brother.    1 John 4:20-21

At nearly 41 years old, I would like to think that having my feelings hurt by someone else wouldn't happen anymore.  Unfortunately, we all know that's not the case.  I tell my kids all the time that they will never outgrow conflict or difficult people/relationships.

When we watch our children have friendship troubles, it is heartbreaking.  I know my first reaction is to fix the problem, but I also know that will teach my children nothing about dealing with conflict and resolution.  When you're an adult though, how do you approach an adult about something upsetting without feeling like you're 13 again?

Several scenarios run through my mind and I can't seem to come up with a good one to resolve the problem.  And when I say resolve the problem, I don't know that that is even in my control because, quite frankly, the 'problem' doesn't even lie at my feet.  It has very little to do with me personally, the way I see it.  But it bothers the daylights out of me.

There are times my thoughts are consumed with this situation and I have to stop myself and say, "God, please, please, please, let me let go of this!"  (And I sometimes add, "Seriously!" as if he doesn't understand my plea without that extra word.)  Why can't I just get over it?  They are entitled to their opinion, and I am entitled to mine.  It doesn't mean we can't be friends, right?

I don't have an answer.  I wish I did.  I wish I knew how this situation would unfold over the next few months/years.  I wish I could read the mind of those I'm struggling with.  I wish things could just go back to normal, the way things used to be.

I am also observing another situation not exactly like the one I'm troubled by, but one that hits close to home nevertheless.  And I find myself wondering, what will be gained by continuing this conflict? In the end, who truly wins this battle?  The one who pushes to the limits or the one who stands their ground?  Does it even matter...

In either situation, I have to believe that Satan is at the core.  Because we are taught that Jesus is love. Jesus would not want discord among believers...and yes, I'm talking about believers.  We should love one another, regardless of our personal opinions.

Like it or not, we are all part of the same family.