When Conflict Stirs Our Lives, God...

This morning, three geese swam on the other side of our lake. All three fought with wings flapping, water spraying, honking and screeching.

One of the geese flew a few feet away then plunged into the water and faced the other two geese. There seemed to be a calming.

Not so.

Among the two geese swimming together, one couldn't handle the situation. He faced the goose swimming at a distance, flapped his wings, honked and screeched at the goose in the distance and took flight heading straight for the first goose.

The two fought, nipping at each other until the first goose took flight crossing the lake and over our house. The angry goose took chase, keeping within a few inches. Quite some time passed. Neither goose returned.

All the while, the third goose remained in the water. It swam there, alone, for several hours, gliding around as if waiting for one of the fighting geese to return.

Then, as if giving up hope, she lifted her wings...

Raising herself above the water

She lifted her head and took flight.

And disappeared for the rest of the day.

Where was the happy ending to the story?

That is a good question.

Sometimes we find ourselves caught, unintentionally in a dispute.

We may be the one who walks away in an attempt to stop the problem.

We may be the one who is so fueled with the concern we seek out the first one and restart the fight.

We may be the one who is left standing. Amazed the whole thing ever happened.

So how should we best solve the problem? The aftermath can rip apart our spirit.

As I sit here writing, the best answer I can give--because I have found myself in all three positions at one time or another--is to call on the godly friends God has placed in our lives. One who is willing to listen, no matter which of the three roles we find ourselves playing.

This morning I had a heavy, disappointed heart. My godly friend and author, Krista Phillips, said to me: "You can't please everyone. Not readers or editors or judges. You can please Jesus though. He is most important!!!"

Those were the very words I needed to hear.

See? This is the encouragement God breathes into the souls of our friends. Words that our heartache shuts out and can't hear, but will listen when spoken by a treasured, godly friend.

We will have moments like the geese when no matter what we do, the situation turns out wrong. The only way to pull us back into the joy of the Lord is His gift to us--godly friends.

This post has been brought to you by the one-word: Godlyfriends

Do you have a concern you would like me to pray for? I'm here. Ready. And I love to pray for you.

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