Peter v. Judas

So my pastor spoke about forgiveness and reconciliation this morning. He alluded to the English idiom The Elephant in the Room. This idea is based on the concept that an elephant in a room would be impossible to overlook; thus, people in the room who pretend the elephant is not there might be concerning themselves with relatively small and even irrelevant matters, compared to the looming big one. So there is an OBVIOUS problem that is being ignored.

We have all had that awkward silence when we are in a room with someone we had an issue with. What I love about my Pastor is that he makes the Bible simple and we can relate it to our real life situations. My Pastor spoke about addressing the elephant in the room. This sermon really hit home for me. Throughout my adult life I had 3 close friendships which turned sour. And it wasn't until the 3rd happening (when I became much wiser) that I decided to do something about it -- I addressed the situation. I consider myself to be nonconfrontational. I don't like entertaining drama because I'm crazy. I am too ghetto and crazy to have drama. Serious. But as a mature adult I am learning how to deal with life. Friends are always going to have some type of disagreement. We gonna fight but true friends can come back and move forward. I have learned to listen to the other side, accept fault, and move on.

The reconciliation process was easy. I just emailed them. Many times we think that when we try to reconcile a situation, the other party is just going to turn spit in your face and turn their backs. But I have learned that that really isn't the case. People are very forgiving and we, as humans long for companionship. We know when we have lost a good thing. Through a simple email, I have restored 2 of the 3 friendships. We aren't the best of friends but I know that they have my back and I have theirs. Now with reconciliation you must understand that sometimes the other person won't budge. And for me that has happened. I reached out to the girl about 3 times and she's cut me off. She DEFRIENDED me on FACEBOOK. HAHAHAHA! Sorry, it's just funny. Maybe one day our friendship will be restored -- or maybe it won't. But I'm content with knowing that I reached out and I've forgiven her and asked her to forgive me. It's truly a freeing experience.

The most important thing I left with from the message was to know the difference between a Judas and a Peter. When people hurt me, I automatically say that they are innately evil. Yeah, I'm an extremist, but hurt, HURTS! But I have learned that we are humans and we have faults. And when I look back I don't think any of my friends wanted to hurt me or to be back stabbers, they were not Judas' they were Peters. I never intended to hurt anyone or backstab them -- I am a Peter. People, friends make mistakes. I have made mistakes. And all we need to do is reconcile our differences and move forward.

- still chasing honey . . .