Making the effort ...

Photo Credit: Nancy Gaudet

Be completely humble and gentle; 

be patient, bearing one another in love.  

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit 

through the bond of peace.  Ephesians 4:2-3

I've decided something about friends. They all have good stuff and bad stuff. Things you like and things that really annoy you. Friends are a package deal. And sadly, not all friendships will stand the test of time. Some friendships are for a season. But other times, we have to be willing to deal with the messy stuff to fight for our friendships. From time to time, we experience riffs, misunderstandings, hurt feelings or frustrations. Parts of us want to distance ourselves because it's hard to sift through the hurt.  We must pray through it and remind ourselves this person is a package deal and that we also have flaws and imperfections and do things that annoy others. We all have issues.  We must be willing to work on our not-so-fun stuff and be fully aware we're going to hit some muddy little potholes along our friendship path.

Otherwise, one day we're gonna end up lonely because we're so picky.
Pray for your friends as you pray for your family ... blessings, security, joy.

♥ terri


Note: the above (italics) is taken from an email 
I received which was passed on from one to another.
I'd give credit if I knew where it originated.