Day 87

Only thirteen days left! That is the age of Mathew my youngest child.Those awkward years. You could not pay me enough to be a teenager again. Communication was very difficult at that age. I remember thinking everything I felt and thought was one hundred percent correct and there was not anything anyone said to me that could convince me of anything different. I think the moment I became a teenager I felt like an instant foreigner in my  house.Hormones some how seem to alter our brains.

I really think communication can be difficult at any age. There will always be people who don't think like you, act like you or even feel the same way about things like you ,at home, at work, at church, or with extended family. I think what is important is loving people unconditionally in spite of their differences. Don't get me wrong there are some people who it is just best to avoid for our own sanity. I think the part that is the most painful to deal with is when people you genuinely love and care about shut you out when you have differences or you misunderstand each other at times. It makes you feel like you are uncared for and disposable.

It seems like the two most common ways people deal with it are by rejecting the person back because they think if they act like they don't care those hurt feelings will somehow magically go away or they bend over backwards trying to please that person so they can somehow win their approval back and redeem the relationship and then they walk on egg shells worried that one wrong comment, facial expression , or difference in opinion will send you right back to feeling rejected again. I have seen it over and over again in people I care about and I have experienced it myself. Life is too short and we face enough adversity as it is . Why make it even harder by hurting each other over petty differences or pride?

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus....PHILIPPIANS 2:3-5