Dealing With Difficult People

Do you ever get an email or a phone call from someone and when you see it you think, “No! I just don’t have the emotional strength to deal with (him or her) right now.”  It is not that you dislike or like the person but because you know the interaction will always leave you feeling downbeat and annoyed.  Dealing with difficult people can be grueling.  No matter what the topic is – you, them, someone else or something else - you know the exchange will be exhausting, to say the least. The subject of difficult people keeps popping up more and more often and today I saw a post on a friend’s Facebook page concerning the same thing and it got me to contemplating why this source of tension often creeps into our lives and what impact it has on us.  As I sit and reflect on the difficulties in life I know there is a purpose in them even if we can't see what they are and I wanted to share my thoughts.

Are you afraid to talk to others about God?

The other day I blogged my first post with my answer to the question "Do you have to go to church to be spiritual?" I confess I was very hesitant about posting it. Not because I was afraid to talk about my love of Jesus but because I bared some personal stuff which I don't do except with my most trusted friends. When I began writing the post I didn't intend for it to be a long post and certainly didn't intend to include such personal details. However, while I was writing I kept hearing God speak and knew what I was writing was not good enough. I kept writing and re-writing until I knew the only way I could get my point across was to include what He had done for me, including the pain I have endured. So many times people look at Christians and think "Of course it is easy for them to have faith...they have such a great life." Well, that's not the case. Every person has a story. Every person deals with trials, struggles and bad stuff in their life. It is how you choose to deal with it that makes the difference. Having God on my side and in my life allows me to deal with things from a different perspective. Rather than walking around moping with a frown all the time and focusing on the negative saying "Why me? Nothing will ever get better.", I can focus on the good in my life and say with a smile "Thank you, dear Lord, for what you have given me. I trust in You and the plans You have for me." My prayer for anyone that knows God is to teach others about His love and grace...even in the midst of trials. Why? Because we believe what God says. We believe what God says about Himself and believe what He says about us. It takes an act of faith. Everyone has faith in something or someone. I've never seen God, but I know He is. Just as I've never seen the wind - but I've heard it blow soft and hard and felt it on my face. I believe God. I believe He is perfect. He makes no mistakes. He has a perfect plan for my life and for yours. I believe God's ways are higher than our ways. This is why we need to not be afraid to talk to others about Him. If I had any hesitation in posting what was laid on my heart, any doubts that I was hearing Him right are gone. So if you have any doubts about telling others about your love for Jesus, don't! Let me tell you why...God WILL use you in a powerful way. I am so amazed and humbled to know that my post touched someone and I had to share it with you so you could understand the affirmation that God will work through you.