Don't Shut the Door.

Some time ago, my grandmother had a talk with me about never disrespecting your parents. She discussed her childhood and how there were a lot of things that her parents did that she felt were not right; however, she made it her testimony to never disrespect them. She went on to tell me her reasoning which was "you never know how you will need them in the future." She said that when she left home to start her journey into adulthood, she made sure that she left her parents' home in a loving, respectful manner because she never knew what life would throw at her that would cause to her to have to come back "home". Her way of phrasing it was to "always leave the door open. Don't shut the door. You never know when you have to walk back through it."

At the time, I looked at it as another lesson about being obedient to your parents. Now, I'm starting to think that it can be looked at in many ways other than what she explained to me. It's not always about you making sure the door is left open for yourself to get back through, but it can also mean to leave the door open for others to get back through to you. I read a quote somewhere that said "Judas had a bad heart, but Peter had a bad day. Don't confuse the two. Peter you restore - Judas you release. "

We have to know who to release, and we have to know who to restore. Sometimes we make excuses for the Judas' in our lives and continuously burn bridges with the Peters.

Not everyone is meant to be cut completely out of your life. Could you imagine if God cut us completely off when we hurt Him? Because we have all hurt Him at some point in life according to our sins, but its His love for us that keeps extending the Hand of grace and the Heart of forgiveness. We preach that we want a heart like His, but do we really? Because a heart like His takes a lot of beatings, a lot of sacrificing, a whole lot of mercy, and a whole lot of forgiveness.The heart of Jesus is sacred, and the lessons and examples it provides to us are paramount in our daily mission to follow in His footsteps.

I'm learning that there are some situations that force us to look at those who hurt us in that manner. That is not saying to be a fool (remember Judas & Peter are two separate people), but if we were to offer up a little more love and forgiveness to one another and recognize that we are all humans, we all do human things, and we all have time and room to grow. We cannot punish people for not reaching a level of growth that life has not allowed them to experience yet. We all grow at different rates for different reasons. We cannot cut people off without allowing them the opportunity to learn and grow just like Jesus does with us each and every day. Remember, Peter had a bad day, but He loved God and God loved him. Don't be so quick to shut the door on people. You never know who God will send back through it. And He could be sending them just to see where your heart is.

Blessings & Grace!