I’ve found being defensive isn’t always my best offense. It’s actually a totally worthless way of dealing with conflict. How quick we are to ‘turn’ on someone when we’re not picking up on a touchy feely vibe from them- not taking into account that their vibe toward us might not have anything to do with us. But don’t we all just want to be liked? I am SUCH a people pleaser. It bugs me if I feel like someone doesn’t like me. How silly, huh? Keep loving though. That’s what I tell myself. And loving someone isn’t necessarily having a relationship with them. It’s hard to distinguish those two things though. Keep your freedom and choose your battles. Rather than being defensive, it’s best to say nothing at all. I think silence is powerful. So often the back-and-forth battle of the opinions solves nothing. It’s so tempting to keep talking until we feel like we’re being heard. But that’s just asking for validation and there are people who don’t agree with us and that doesn’t make our opinion less important. Sometimes being quiet and listening to someone else gives us a completely different take that we would have never considered before. Because you can’t listen and talk at the same time.
And consider this question- do you think it’s easier to love someone or like them? I think it’s easier to love. Liking someone is the relationship part. There are people in this world that are hard to like. I often remind my kids how much I LIKE them. They know I LOVE them but I truly enjoy their company and I like being with them. We’re called to love, but are we called to like? Hmmm……
XO!