Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Two Key Elements of Unconditional Love: Forgiveness and Grace



Loving unconditionally also means learning to extend grace and forgiveness to another for things both big and small. It’s not always the major offenses like betrayal, deceit or disloyalty that lead to the breakdown of a relationship. Sometimes it’s the little things that we fail to truly forgive and let go. Over time such small offenses build up and turn into an unconscious resentment that begins to show up in our attitude and behavior when interacting with the person.

For example, certain personality differences, habits and repeated small mistakes or oversights made by the person that your, more meticulous, attention to detail, personality type finds extremely annoying, careless or irresponsible about the other person. However, before you judge the imperfections of another so harshly remember in our human nature we are all flawed to one degree or another. This means, as hard as this may be to believe, accept or digest, the truth is that you too have some personality traits, habits or idiosyncrasies that really annoy someone else, rather they’ve brought it to your attention or not.

This is not just with friends and those we work with but it’s especially true in our close personal relationships of those we have to live with as well. Like a husband, wife, romantic partner, roommate, or siblings who still live at home with mom and dad. Maintaining a meaningful relationship of any kind is hard within itself. Yet, trying to sustain a relationship on top of adding co-habitation to the mix to raises this challenge to a whole new level.

Anytime you put two or more people in the same living space together it requires a great deal of patience, compassion, understanding, consideration, and yes…enormous amounts of grace…i.e. forgiveness. Why? Because although we meet people throughout life with whom we have much in common, reality is, God made no two people exactly alike. Which in effect means, in order to live in harmony we have to learn to accept the differences between our personalities and another’s that in due time will surely show up. And the best way to accomplish this huge feat is by finding a way to embrace rather than resist the things about another that makes them as unique as your own personality quirks also makes you uniquely you.

So the next time your spouse, mate, lover, co-worker, sibling or friend does that thing he or she does that just really irks your nerves, remember this scripture from Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Be patience and extend them a little grace.

Forgive, let go and don’t sweat the small stuff because in the grand scheme of things if that person, you otherwise so dearly love, were to die tomorrow all those little habits and things they do that annoy you so much would suddenly become small things. So why not see them for the truth of what they really are now. Doing so will allow you to get on with enjoying your relationship and loving that person to the best of your ability while they’re still here today. As I’ve said before I say again as a reminder. “To err is human but to forgive is divine.

Until next time…I surround you in Love & Light! So always keep your heart open and your Love light on.

A One Love Production
By Anna M. Hendricks
Copyright 2013

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