it strikes again

I finally updated my facebook yesterday.

It had been several months since my last update (we're talking like 4 months). One of the things I was able to do was finally become "friends" with my cousin. I was also suggested to become "friends" with my sister. Given that these are two people that are family, it would be reasonable to believe that this should've been done much much earlier. But there's reason why this hadn't taken place.

There's a "past" with both of these people. That is, somewhere along the way there was a falling out in the lives of both of these people to either me or other people in the family. As a result, there are lingering hurt feelings and a seemingly perpetual elephant in the room. Never truly reconciled, issues are never brought up for fear that it would incite conflict.

The thing is, the "past" is perfectly legitimate. Both my cousin and my sister have every right to make the decisions they did and I don't fault either one of them for doing so. However, there have been repercussions and many relationships have been altered as a result.



The reason this is noteworthy is because it brings to the forefront a very important observation I've been able to make. One of the reasons God is so big on treating other people with love/respect is because the long term effects of a fallout are so detrimental. In other words, relationships can be very fragile and if not cared for properly they will crack (and even shatter). This isn't to say that things can't be rebuilt--in fact, a mosaic of countless shattered pieces is often viewed superior to a one piece artwork. But it is saying that once altered it will never again be the same.

When we revere one another the relationships are likely to stay that much healthier.