Advent is also a perfect time to “begin again” our relationships with family, friends, and colleagues. In recognizing that God loves us unconditionally, we also must acknowledge that God loves everyone else in the same way — unconditionally. This is a hard pill to swallow at times. How can God love someone who drives us crazy? How can God loves someone who commits atrocities? And even if he does, how can he expect us to do the same?
Advent offers us the opportunity to “begin again” in our relationships. Such a beginning may be recognizing the special needs of someone close to us and sacrificing to meet that need. Such a beginning may be recognizing that the irritating coworker’s life is different from our own and taking a deep breath and trying to walk a mile in their shoes every now and then. And such a beginning may involve acknowledging that you have no idea what motivates someone to act out in a destructive way, but that if God can love that individual despite his conduct, at least we can temper our own attitude.
Today, spend a little time on your relationships and ask yourself how can I use Advent as a time to “begin again” in a relationship that needs a new beginning.
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