The Difficult Words

No matter how wonderful life can be at times, there always seem to be some difficult moments with the people who share our journey here. Whether they are strangers merely darting through our lives or the people whom we care most deeply about, we will surely disagree from time to time. Once the train of communication gets derailed then everyone gets their feelings hurt and they all walk away thinking, "I’ll be dammed if I’m giving in first." The secret, however, to getting along over the long haul is learning how to show respect and grace ... even when we can’t find a reason to offer either, even when we feel we’ve been wronged. For once we put on the relational blinders of disappointment and resentment it becomes extremely difficult to feel any emotional charity towards or fellow sojourners. How can we avoid the kind of conflict which can result in unwanted damage? First, we need to take nice deep breath prior to speaking or answering any accusation, or even count to ten. (Or a hundred) Once we have spoken, however, once we have walked away and avoided someone things tend to get a little more dicey. Then it takes someone to speak first, not to give in or necessarily concede , but at least someone willing to swallow their pride enough to open a dialog. That act itself can melt a lot of the ice which forms in a chilly relationship. From there on it just takes patience and grace, lots of grace. Those difficult words don’t, by their very nature come easily, but they are well worth the effort. It takes some prayer, some patience, a little swallowed pride and an earnest desire to get that relational train back on the right track. If you are there yourself right now, be the one to make the call. You’ll never regret it.

The Difficult Words
Lord, when the difficult words come
When they must be spoken or heard
When so much is at stake and so much
Seems to be wrapped up in every word
Then Lord, give us wisdom and patience
As we struggle so to convey
What must be said and accepted
In our discourse on days like today
Lord, soften our hearts to each other
That we might be sensitive
In dealing with sisters and brothers
Today, and each day that we live
By Frank Carpenter ©