Time and time again, we are presented with situations that test our integrity. We waffle between the doing the right thing and doing what will maintain peace. These tests present themselves when your husband’s thoughts seem more like a demand than an opinion; when your child’s retaliation seems more like a threat of her love for you than a need for discipline; when a friend’s conversation seems more like an expression of pain than a cry for your help.
We struggle with the choice of which avenue to take. Sometimes our heart wants us to succumb to the easier path of submission rather than follow our hearts and gently present what each one knows is true. It is fear that blocks this choice to stand up and present what our loved one does not want to hear, yet so desperately needs to accept. It is courage that allows us to be prepared to hear the backlash and not be hurt by the other’s defensive retaliation. It is compassion that allows us to listen to what the other has to say, and then ask them to listen to us. It is love that will allow both of us to meet at the end of the road and embrace our respect for one another in order to move forward.
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