Respect

Everybody has something going on in their lives. Some people are open about it, some people don't ever talk to anyone about what they are dealing with...but everyone has something. God made us each different, meaning that we process things in different ways...we make decisions and come to conclusions in various fashions.

When I was thinking about that the other day, I came to the realization that people have particular expectations about life in general, relationships, God, and themselves. One of the hardest things to learn is that not everyone wants the same things out of a friendship...when in doubt, always let the other person take the lead until you know what they want out of it....I'm not saying that this is the law, just what I've learned in this little journey called life.

There are times when a friendship progresses from having fun together 24/7 to being there for each other when times are rough...this is what I'll call a support/encouragement system. It is through this process that we really bond together and get to know how the other people think...this is when trust is formed. One of the best things about this level of friendship is that we know one another so well, sometimes better than we know ourselves, that we gain this intangible respect for each other...it is amazing when we know what the others are struggling with and then see how they look at the world in spite of those struggles. It is so true that you never know what a person is going through, just by looking at them.

A tangible example of this perspective that different people have on life occurred tonight at church. I was surrounded by people that I am blessed to call my friends...as we were worshiping our Creator, I started thinking about how awesome it is that we all have this common ground on which we stand before the Lord...we are unworthy and weak, but we are unashamed because of His redemption. This wonderful sense of respect for the Lord and for each of those people welled up inside me...thankfulness to God as well as the recognition that He is leading each one of us through our particular trials combined to create this environment conducive to worship. Then to think that we have been adopted into His family (there is an I Am Second video about that by the way: Priscilla's video) I was just in awe of His sovereignty in all things.