Faithfulness with Broken Relationships

Faithfulness, at its core, is believing and trusting in something or someone. If I sit down in a chair, I have faith that the chair will hold me and not break. If I sit in my car and drive down the interstate, I have faith that the brakes will work when I need them to. Having faith in Jesus is trusting that He is with us always and has made a way for us to be with Him in heaven. It is also trusting that God has put the right people in our path and that we are linked (yoked) with others for a purpose. When those relationships don’t work out the way we want them to, pain happens. Confusion happens. Disappointment happens.

It’s not easy to admit that my relationships are not perfect. However, I have several significant people in my life that don’t love me the same way I love them. Holidays are especially difficult as I want things to be “perfect” and I want us to be able to get together and celebrate with one another. Valentine’s day is one of those holidays.

If you have a relationship that you are looking forward to celebrating this week, I want to challenge you to realize how blessed you are. Please don’t take this relationship for granted. A special person in your life can be here one day and gone the next.

If you are upset with someone in your life, it may be time to reach out and try to reconcile or let them know you love them. Ephesians 4:26-27 reminds us never to go to bed angry with our loved ones. Delaying the conversation will usually make it harder to reconcile.

For those of us that have tried to have those conversations with our loved ones, but they are not ready to listen or perhaps they are not even ready to entertain a conversation, there is not much else that we can do other than wait and pray. We do, however, have a responsibility to protect ourselves from toxic relationships. Proverbs 22:3 states, “the prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer from it.”

Over the past year, I have been gathering memes that help me cope with broken relationships. Perhaps one of the comments below will resonate with you.

• Don’t let people guilt you for not visiting them. They’re not visiting you either.
• Hardest pill I swallowed was realizing I meant nothing to people that meant a lot to me.
• If you ever feel like I’m getting distant, just know I learned my place with you.
• Stop being present for those who are continuously absent.
• Unconditional love doesn’t mean unconditional tolerance.

While Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate love, it can also be a difficult day for those with broken relationships. I pray each of us reflects on the people in our lives today. Who is in our inner circle, those closest to us? Are we in healthy relationships? Are we in toxic relationships? Are there people in our lives that we need to reach out to and let know how much we appreciate them? Are there people in our lives with whom we need to set boundaries so they can no longer hurt us? Remember, the Greatest Commandment (Matthew 22:36-40) is to “Love your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” We are then called to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Reflect also on how we treat ourselves with love and how we can elevate love and kindness in the world this year by putting God first in our lives (Matthew 6:33).