A thought by Mike Bechtle from his book, People Can't Drive You Crazy If You Don't Give Them the Keys (p. 35). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)
That’s a good question, so what do we need to know?
Mike says,
“1. The people we spend the most time with create the most drama. Different people impact us in different ways. A casual acquaintance might irritate you, but you don’t see them that often. On the other hand, the person who sits next to you at work every day, lives in your house, or comes to every holiday celebration can turn your emotions upside down.
“2. Relationships take work. Someone said, ‘The best things in life are free.’ That might be true in terms of money, but it takes a focused, concentrated commitment to overcome the craziness that other people bring into our lives.
“3. Relationships take time. On television, many relationships seem to be healed with one or two conversations. In real life, those conversations happen—but they’re only a small part of a much longer process. Just as a physical wound takes time to heal, emotional issues don’t find resolution overnight.
“4. The past doesn’t have to predict the future. In a long-term relationship, change might feel hopeless. Your crazy sibling has acted a certain way for years, so you assume that you ‘can’t teach an old dog new tricks.’ But the only chance for hope in a relationship is to leave room for the possibilities. There won’t be guarantees, but there is always hope.
“5. You don’t have to be a victim. In a toxic relationship, it’s easy to feel sucked dry by another person. It’s true that they might never change, and there could always be drama in the relationship. But we don’t have to let them mess up our lives.”
And we don’t have to let then mess us our life, do we? Have you come to realize that? Will you try?
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