My husband and I were talking this morning about relationships. Relationships are so important in this walk of life. Some may be only for a season, and some may be for a lifetime.

One of the many things I love and appreciate about my husband is the fact that he never attempts or intends to burn bridges with his relationships. Even if somebody has hurt us, he still makes all attempts to restore the relationship. This is something I really need to learn from him. I may be more like the umpire at the baseball game who shouts “YOU’RE OUT” to the player who is sliding into home plate. You mess with me too many times and you’re out.

Is this really what God intends for us though? Does He want us going through life from hurt to hurt, never even attempting to recover what once was? I have two sons that are really close together in age and many people over the years have thought they were twins. They would always say they were each others best friend. They are so close and I love it. They would get upset with each other but still be able to get over it quickly and go right back to becoming best friends. Oh, if we could still be like children in this way. Children understand that relationships are more important than holding on to grudges and hurts.

Heaven is not going to have hiding places for us when we see those who have hurt us.

When people preach about how this is all about the Kingdom of God, this is one of those ways that we are not doing things right. We need to forgive people and be able to look them in the face and be able to talk with them. If we have truly forgiven somebody, we most definitely should be able to do this. There will always be those people who can’t move past things, but we still need to do our part and make those attempts at working things out. We all need to learn from past mistakes and grow in maturity. I hate to think that there are people out there that haven’t gotten past something I may have said or done to hurt them.

There is absolutely power in our words. We can use them to hurt, build up, or restore relationships. Let us be people that show love in all areas. Let us forgive quickly and build bridges rather than burn them. This life is not about us, it’s all about Jesus and His Kingdom.