Living With People

Living with people is inevitable. God created us a dependant people. We live in close proximity to people, especially in a college dorm. We share a couch, a sink, a remote, and sometimes even a toothbrush. In order to survive a healthy family life, a successful college career, a marriage, we must learn to live with people.
"Living" with people is inevitable. God created us a relational people. We thrive on others' thoughts, conversation. As a creature we need people near us, people close to us, to love on us and for us to love on them. But people can be hurtful, weird, and disrespectful. In order to have healthy relationships we must learn to "live" with people.
Learning to live with people is a lot easier for me than learning to "live" with people. I need people around. I need people close simply to carry on a conversation with. Life is better with people. But those same people who bring so much joy to your life are the same people who tear you down. It happens in every relationship from the time we begin having cognitive relationships, "Suzi's my best friend and she said that she didn't want to play with me!", to middle school, "But I thought you were going to share a locker with me?", to high school, "He said he loved me.", to college "And I have to share a bathroom with you?", and I'm assume straight on through the rest of life.
A wild tongue is the hardest part of the body to train and it's sharpness can pierce right through to the very core of an individual. But with every harsh word that is said to me, I can think of 10 that I in return have tossed around in playful jest or even anger. I am at extreme fault in this area of my life as well, and so when the tables turn it gives me an opening to evaluate myself and see if I need to reign in my tongue.
Although words can hurt, they can also heal. The right word spoken by the right person can heal any ailment that may come my way. I thank God for all the words that have been spoken to me this weekend. Some in anger, some in jealousy, but most in love. I love the people that God has blessed me with in my life. And although they are the same people who can knock the wind out of me and make me fall to my knees, they are the very same people who hold out their hand and pull me back up. I hate ending anything with a cliche although a few come to mind (the people who you love the most can also hurt you the most, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.) So instead I will simply say that I am grateful for the pain, the struggles, the fun, and the love that lead to deep, lasting relationships. I am grateful that God has given me the opportunity to learn to "live" with people.