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A Growth Opportunity

Last week at my Bible Study, we were discussing how as Christians, we are called to pray for those who frustrate or hurt us.  We should be treating those who treat us poorly with the same love and respect as those who do treat us well.  We should be turning the other cheek, as they say.  This is the very definition of kindness.  I believe most people want to be kind.  Unfortunately, this is much easier said, than done. 
 
There have been so many times that I wanted to hurt the person, who hurt me.  At the very least, I wanted to put them in their place to make sure they knew they were in the wrong. 
 
Something that helped to put things into perspective is that, whether we agree with what the other person does or not, we still have full control over our actions.  No matter what this person does or doesn’t do, there is no reason for me to act poorly, even if at the time, it feels like a well-deserved counterattack.   
 
During the group's discussion is also dawned on me that those people that have been the most challenging, are also the ones I’ve learned the most from.  Even if all I learned was that I don’t want to be like that person.  You can bet than when I caught myself doing something that person does, I immediately stopped it.  In some cases, the lesson was seeing that I needed to change, and that I’m not always right.  And, in other cases, it was actually learning to open my mouth, and finding a way to respectfully say "this isn't working for me" or even learning how to provide feedback to another adult.  

We aren’t given anything we can’t handle, and we can’t even begin to understand God’s master plan.  So trust in Him, and know that we aren’t alone in whatever we are experiencing.  There is someone there looking out for us.  It’s just that sometimes, it seems like we need to learn some things the hard way.
 
Having this new perspective has really helped me to look at a person who is challenging to work with, or live with if they're a roommate, as someone to appreciate because they are forcing me to grow.  I think it's important to remember that these people aren't out to get us.  We are not being attacked.  Interacting with a more challenging person is really just an opportunity to gain life experience and grow as a person.

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