All of us at some point in our lives develop blisters on our feet. My worst blisters were this past weekend. I am training for the half marathon in Nashville later this month. My training schedule called for a 12.5 mile run. I had been doing interval training which combines some running, with walking intervals staggered throughout the run. Due to my upcoming shoulder surgery, my surgeon has told me that I cannot run the race, but can walk it.
After about 6 miles, I could feel the blisters starting to form. It started as a burning sensation. I was determined to fight through it and not let the potential pain stop me. Three more miles went by and my feet were telling me to quit. My stubborn brain said to keep going. I was not going to give in to the pain that was setting in. My feet were rubbing in my shoes the wrong way and making things worse by every step.
Our relationships in life can be compared to this. Have you known people that just rubbed you the wrong way? Their personalities did not fit with yours. How did you handle yourself? Too often, we make things worse. We are not about to “give in” and try to make the relationship work. It is like my walk. I could have stopped before it got unbearable. The walk could have been done another day and I could have prepared my feet better ahead of time. Relationships take work. Whether it is a spouse, friend or just an acquaintance, you need to eliminate as many of the irritations as possible.
If there are things that they do that “rub you the wrong way”, do not just push back and let your stubbornness make the situation worse. Try to look through their eyes. You might be the irritant. If you let it get out of control, picture it being a blister on your relationship. The worse that this blister gets, the longer it will take to heal. If you catch it early, it may heal within hours. If you have two people that are not about to give in at all to please the other one, it may take years to heal.
Be aware of the blisters in your life and stop before it is too late. Relationships are too critical in our lives to ruin them because of being stubborn. If you are not aware of how to get through a situation or how to heal a situation, have a conversation with God. He is a counselor that is always “on call” and you do not need an appointment. Talking things through in prayer and really listening to the response can help. Now get out there and heal your blisters.
