I Didn't Know it Would Be Like This.

It's funny, someone can you tell a fact like "Touching a hot stove will burn you." and at least in my world I think "Of course that will hurt." I go on my merry way thinking, I have learned something. Then I face the situation I was told about and I remember "Touching a hot stove will hurt." I, being the ever dutiful person, trying to live out what I know to be true, try to avoid touching the hot stove. But, then it happens. In spite of my best efforts I inadvertently touch the hot stove. I get burned. It hurts. I think to myself "Well I was told it would hurt, but I did not know it would be like this."

This raises, what I think is an interesting question, did I not learn? Well I don't think that is the case. I did learn. I don't think I would have tried to avoid touching the hot stove if I had not learned. I think the key is, that while I learned from being told, it is difficult to take another's experience, apply it to my life and get the same result.

I am friends with a wide variety of people. I have some deep friendships, I have some new friends, I have some friendships that have been around for a long time. Some look similar but at the same time time they are all unique. There are many relationship principles that can be applied to these friendships because, they are after all, relationships. At the same time, how those principles look after being applied may be different. After all, I am not always the same, there times when I have grown and principles are easier to apply. There are times when the other person has grown. There are times when neither of us ready to apply the principle or maybe only of us is ready. All this to say because of the very nature of relationships the out comes may be the same but more than likely it might be different.

The Lord is trying to teach me is it's not about avoiding those 'nobody told me it was going to be like this' moments. Which sometimes is what I want to do, but, about what happens because of them. I am beginning to realize the moments when I think 'nobody told me it was going to be like this' are often the times when I look back, and remember the ways the Lord comforted me, encouraged me and how it is in those moments that I grew ever closer to him.