Hello everyone!
Today, I want to talk about walking away - whether that be from a person or situation that is not good for us.
We have to know when enough is enough and we have to know when to walk away. We must know when the cost and/or benefit of staying in that situation or around that person is no longer worthwhile for us.We have to know when something is harmful for us and for others in our lives.
There are people out there who will not let us love or care for them. They will take and give nothing. They will use you to meet their needs and then throw you away. They will constantly mix you up in their confusion, drama, misery, and anger; draining all of your energy, peace and joy. You know who I'm talking about don't you? We all know people like this. They are difficult to live with, love, befriend and talk to most times. Many times, and I say this without hesitation, they are very hurt themselves and may even be mentally ill.
What do we do with them? The answer to that is: we can't "do anything" with them. Why you may ask? We can't do anything with them because they don't want to take the time and effort to look at themselves and their character, work on themselves and let God do His work in them. When we have someone like this in our lives, the only thing we can do is pray for them. We can't fix them and they don't need to be our project. Many times, we just have to walk away from that relationship and the situation surrounding it. In other words, we have to love them from a distance. There are times people give us no choice but to walk away. They simply don't want or can't relate to what we have to offer and that ladies and gentlemen, is not our fault.
Now some of you may be thinking, "that's not exactly Christian." To that I would say this, Jesus and his disciples knew when to leave and when to stay. They knew when to shake the dust off their feet and move on. They knew how to protect themselves and did so without hesitation. They understood boundaries very well -theirs and others' boundaries. Did Jesus and the disciples' hearts break when they had to do this? I believe so. Your heart may break too but better a broken heart for a short time than a broken life for much longer.
I would tell you, if you have to walk away from someone, a situation or both, know that you did your best. Forgive them. You gave all you could give. You loved and befriended the best you knew how, usually the best they would let you. Afterall, you can't continue to feed sickness, the sick will only get sicker if you do. Broken hearts heal. You find new friends. You find someone who can relate to you in a much better way.
Spend your time and effort feeding healthy relationships. Pray for those who will not let you be in relationship with them and leave them in God's hands. You aren't a fixer but He is. If He opens a door for you to be in relationship with that person again, wonderful! If He does not, then know you are being protected from something and leave it be. Afterall, He knows who and what is better for you more than you do - trust Him.
Simply trusting,
Elizabeth