I've blogged about broken relationships, forgiveness and the need for prayer, in all things. In my sharing, I try to be as transparent as possible, because ministry is most effective when we are willing to share our real life experiences and how the Lord has moved us from one place to another - higher and higher.
Today, I wanted to give a praise report about some breakthroughs that God has brought to pass; direct answers to prayers. Four years ago I wrote a piece titled, The Drop Kick - and two years later, I wrote about Consequences . Both posts had to do with interpersonal relationships between friends, and how we may find ourselves being dropped by folks we thought would always be in our lives, or having to drop people from our lives. Consequences, originally posted in November, 2014, was written in response to a Facebook post written by an acquaintance who was addressing Christians who find themselves in situations with "repeat offenders" who expect them, as Christians, to always "turn the other cheek" when they've been offended, over and over. However, as Christians, while we may forgive, our relationship with the offender may not remain the same.
When I revisited Consequences at the beginning of 2016, I prefaced it with a personal statement. A former friend of mine, S.C., when she was my friend, gave me a good word regarding the status of my situation with some individual(s) I had hurt in the past. She said I just may not be forgiven. It helped me to cope. Partly because I knew I had confessed to the Lord, and asked Him to forgive me. I was already forgiven.
I'm here to tell you that the two longtime friends from my post in The Drop Kick, have been restored to me! And the one, Agnostic/Atheist, friend now reaches out for me to pray for him on a regular basis! He knows that prayer works! God is moving!
And on the matter of my consequences for the hurt I caused others years ago - the Lord has worked that out, as well - to His glory! God has moved mightily, so much so that there is now a bond that is strengthening between me and the others. There is forgiveness, and acceptance, and fellowship - which is even more than I asked or expected!
As for my former friend, who dropped me at the end of 2015 for reasons that seemed right to her, I had to accept and understand something that I always say: Not everyone will travel this journey with us all the way. I was hurt, as it was truly unexpected, and I didn't get a chance to respond to the issues. But God knows, and He does all things well!
In all of my life's experiences there have been lessons. Some I've learned, and there is more to learn. My hope and prayer is to be a blessing to those the Lord sends my way, and to live in His will, by His grace, power and love!
God is faithful to perform His promises! He gives us exactly what we need, and aligns our hearts' desires with His, when we delight in Him (Psalm 37:4)!
Amen.
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