Reflections is a weekly meme hosted by Kristin of A Simply Enchanted Life and Fizzy of Fizzy Pop Collection. Every Sunday we will dig deeper into our recent reads to explore the real-life lessons within the pages. Reading the book yourself is not necessary to participate. If you would like to host your own reflection, you’re welcome to copy and paste this introduction, with the link to our pages. You may use our current or prior reflections or come up with your own.
In the collection ‘An Amish Christmas Love‘ Kelly Irvin wrote the novella ‘Snow Angels’. David, in the story, finds himself torn between an old love whose life and faith leads him to the outside world and a new love who has the same Amish roots and faith as himself. Needless to say, he comes to the necessity of making a faith-based decision. Which begs the question, are there people in your life who are keeping you from a closer relationship with Christ? How do you address that challenge? How do you handle those people?
I have to be honest, there have been some friends in my life that made me a very lousy Christian. Gossip has been a struggle for me. I admit I love to gossip. There are people who really pulled out this side of me and I’ve found that the more that I gossiped, the more I pulled away from Christ.
Unfortunately, I’ve not been able to mend every relationship with those that have kept me from Christ. I’ve found them irrevocably bitter and toxic. That toxicity spilled over and infected me in ways that robbed me of joy. The only way that I’ve found to come back to Christ is to cut toxic relationships. I pray for these people and I hold no bitterness, but I can’t have a relationship with them. I have to keep my heart tender and open to the Lord. I can’t do that around the people who pull me into the darkness of my worst vices.
Maybe one day I’ll be able to handle these people and situations. For now, I can’t afford to be pulled into the mire. I make clean relationship breaks as needed for my spiritual and mental wellbeing.
How do you deal with people that keep you from having a closer relationship with Christ?
For me this is a whole lot more a question of faith than a question of religion. I’m not much all in for religion, to be completely honest. Perhaps I’m the bad influence? I like an occasional glass of wine. Reading books that others might find a bit risque. Telling shady jokes in the Prison Yard. That alone is a shady joke, it’s the deck at work where we like to have lunch outside when it’s not freeze your toes off cold. And I named it that. That all being said it’s too easy to be pulled into hi-jinks and jokes and other more than shady discussions than I’m truly comfortable with. And that pulls me from my faith. If I’m being completely honest I’d say that I am the one that many times keeps me from a closer relationship with Christ and pulls me back when I am getting closer. Maybe it’s fear of commitment to something wholeheartedly. Maybe it’s fear of not being completely accepted by peers and friends whom I adore but don’t have the same faith base that I do. My faith is not a secret but it’s also but a ginormous neon arrow over my head either. That is totally on myself.