Do You Walk the Walk? Loving the Hard to Love People in Your Life.

Forgive Yourself..........Love Yourself..........Forgive Others..........Love Others.........

Sounds great doesn't it?

I love you, you love me, we all love the world and everyone in it, peace/love/flowers, yeah man, "it's all good".....***SCREECH!!!! and out of nowhere a car cuts you off and nearly runs you off the road, possibly injuring you, or worse, killing you or a loved one.............INSTANT ROAD RAGE ENSUES ....... you breathe, you re-group, you start to calm down. You ARE NOT thinking about loving that "idiot", of that I am sure.

BUT, what about later? Do you think about that moment and wonder what they may have been thinking? or are you still seething about it?

Maybe their mother just suffered a heart attack and they were only thinking of how fast they could get to the hospital..........OR..........maybe they weren't thinking anything and just happen to be a rude, thoughtless and selfish driver. YOU DON'T KNOW....and if you did, should it make a difference?

Would you be able to take a moment and say a quick prayer for them? Would you have it in you, to take a few minutes out of your day and mentally send them some love and light, and/or forgive them?

It's not easy is it? It's not for me anyway.

I have been diligently working on my own spiritual growth for years and I still struggle with some of the same goals that I advise and lead others to strive for. So if it's hard for you to feel like you can do those things, that's okay.........keep trying.......You get credit for your "true" and "genuine" efforts. You GROW by making the difficult, but righteous choices. And little by little, inch by inch, you succeed in achieving new levels of spiritual maturity.

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Matthew 5:43-45. KJV (I usually read the NIV Bible, but I love the wording of the KJV).

Jesus gave us this teaching, and he wasn't in the habit of providing us with advice just for the fun of it.

It starts with praying for help. Ask God for help, and for His wisdom in finding the path towards Him and being the person He wants you to be. Be honest with Him about your pain and anger.

So, How do you love others when they are bad or hurtful?

Recently, I found myself struggling IMMENSELY with a tremendous betrayal involving selfish, greedy, immoral and unethical behavior by a "family" member. There's no value in espousing the details, because we all have to deal with people in our lives who do bad and hurtful things to us.

SO............How do you get past it internally and find it within yourself to love them and forgive them, especially when they continue to follow the unrighteous path they have chosen?

YOU TRY and YOU PRAY and YOU SEARCH FOR ASSISTANCE. What good is it for me to pose questions with no answers, or at the very least some guidance?....NONE.

There is a lot of wisdom and guidance out there. And one source, which really helped my growth in understanding how to move forward was John Townsend's book, Loving People: How to Love and Be Loved.

My struggle was not so much in loving the person who betrayed their moral duty or forgiving them, but in "how" to express that love in a way that I could get past the damage they did, and know I was living up to my own expectations.

Everyone has people who have hurt them or are "undeserving" of love "in their opinion" in their lives.

In my prayers and search for a way to find peace with the situation I found "my" answer.

The two specific excerpts which helped the most were these:

"So make sure of this: do not confuse the grace of being loving with the license of being enabling. Loving people don't put up with evil and foolishness. That is enabling and rescuing. And it never helps anyone. Instead, people who are truly loving will confront, limit and quarantine people who consistently make wrong choices." - John Townsend, Loving People: How to Love and Be Loved.

On loving a difficult or bad person:

"But think now about a toxic person in your life, even one who has caused you pain or injury. And think about the prospect of seeking and doing what is best for that person. That is a different matter.................This is not to say that there should not be justice; justice is important and may even be a form of love the person truly needs to experience. But the point is, when you grow in your capacity to love, you will find yourself caring about people in your life with less regard to how lovable they are. And the ultimate fruit of learning to love that selfish or hurtful person can often be a miracle: Your love can help them, the unlovable, to become more lovable." -John Townsend, Loving People: How to Love and Be Loved.

So when you see so much emphasis being placed on forgiveness and love being paramount to this Awakening and New Earth Changes, don't feel like it's beyond you to accomplish great things. (go after and conquer the most difficult challenge you feel is holding you back)

You can achieve great peace and individual spiritual growth. It's a journey towards God and His higher calling for you.

Just because there are Hubs and a lot of web pages on these topics out there, doesn't mean their authors have accomplished all of those goals, they struggle with them too. Take the first step, open your heart and try, God will help you, after all, it's WHAT HE WANTS for you.

Love and Light. Let's change the World together.