People. Wow, they can be tough. Do you know any difficult people? I am not talking dysfunctional, abusive or unhealthy, just difficult. Maybe the relationship is wearisome or challenging. Maybe you have to work a little harder at communicating because they think differently, approach the world from the opposite angle, or require more/ less. We don’t understand each other and so we dig in our heels and make the relationship almost unbearable…and what if this person is someone you love deeply and can’t imagine your life without? A spouse, a parent, a best friend, or a child? Or someone you might be “stuck” with, a co-worker, boss?
I am sure some would say the same thing about me, shocking I know…but I can definitely fall into this “difficult” category myself. The differences can be mind boggling sometimes, and I don’t even have words to even begin an attempt to bridge the chasm that separates us. While my mind experiences frustration, my heart is breaking. I pray. I cry, and I desperately fight against the temptation to deal in extremes. Satan bombards me with despairing thoughts, angry thoughts, apathetic thoughts and I might want to give up and yet in the same minute, I refuse to.
After my first cup of coffee today I walked over to get my bible, and beside it was a journal that has dates in it like 2005..?? Whoa. The leather is worn and the words are extensive. I picked it up and flipped through a few pages. I found an entry, not by accident but by divine appointment, in which I give an account of a sometimes difficult person and their extensive strengths. There, written in violet/pink ink I detail an encounter of the way I was blessed by them, the joy they brought me…the delight I felt watching them. It was a necessary and precious reminder. Jesus spoke to me about how this person was “on purpose” and certainly not a mistake. And that our being in relationship with one another wasn’t concerning to him.
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see” -Edgar Degas, quoted by Ruth Simons in her beautiful book “Gracelaced”, she adds…”Art is an expression of what is most valuable to the one creating…you are {that person is} an expression that flows from what is most valuable to the creator.”
Please don’t miss this…the “difficult” person, no matter the reason, they are His art, an expression of what God values most. As are you. What a disarming, grace-filled thought. The way they think, their personality, their passions, what makes them laugh, how they want to spend their time, the questions they ask, the decisions they make…while not perfect and most likely mixed in with motives that are less than ideal…still, who they are and how they approach the world...they are art on display. Art created, designed and fashioned perfectly by God Himself, He has infused what he values most into them.
The fact that they are so incredibly different than you doesn’t mean one is right or wrong, just simply means that our God is an infinite creator. He has not put us at odds with one another, we do that to ourselves when we are unwilling to appreciate and assign worth to their thoughts, their ideas, their feelings and their process.
Today, I will choose to value and appreciate how everyone in my life is different than me. I will see them as Jesus sees them, I will value them as He does, and as I do, the frustrations will recede, and in their place I will usher in intentionality as I appreciate, and look for, all the many blessings they bring to my life. Instead of viewing them as “difficult” I will see them as cherished, treasured and invaluable to my life. Capable of what I am not. After all, isn’t that how I want to be seen?
How will you appreciate the difficult important people in your life today??
Beholding His Glory in what HE values most,
Aubrie
Beholding His Glory 