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“See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” Jeremiah 1:10
We are called to be peacemakers, but peace isn’t flowery, everything is a bed of roses, happy rainbows, and sunshine, scoop the dirt under the rug, kind of peace. This is the way I grew up. When problems happened, we would only address what was absolutely necessary at the moment, but the roots of the problems were never faced. We would try to mend and cover up the symptoms and then move on as if nothing happened.
Now when problems arise in my life and I feel angry, I have great difficulty navigating this emotion and knowing how to handle it in a healthy way. I will stuff it down and try to get to a place of accepting full blame or working towards forgiveness on my own, but often these unaddressed issues will resurface with bitterness and resentment, bleeding out on everyone I encounter.
“Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” Hebrews 12:15
What I’ve learned from the past 3 years of constant conflict and miserably and painfully failing at dealing with it, is that true peace doesn’t mean the absence of conflict — true peace will often require conflict. It…
