Choose to Trust

Choosing to Trust:

I can't begin to tell you how many times I've heard this basic explanation as to why a divorce was imminent or a friendship that had lasted for decades couldn't go on: "I don't trust him/her anymore."  Not as often, but I have run across folk who didn't get along with anyone. They had been hurt and they weren't willing to risk it again, so they lived in a lonely fort, having surrounded themselves with a high wall and a deep moat filled with a determination to never trust anyone. Don't get me wrong. Clearly there at times when it is foolish or even wrong to trust. Women who have been abused, especially if there are children involved, ought not "just trust" their abuser. Such foolishly placed trust becomes one of the weapons of the abuser. What I'm addressing today are those situations where two people stand a safe distance apart and glare at each other. They may mumble under their breath, "Why can't you trust me?" Yet, neither of the people lacking in trust is willing to say, "I'll trust you." When we demand surety before we are willing to take steps toward reconciliation, we ensure that former enemies will stay belligerents.  Back in my day, "Give peace a chance." was a popular slogan. I'm not encouraging you to buy an old microbus, or start braiding flowers, but I would like to rehabilitate the old line.Give peace a chance. Choose to trust.  Trust, like love, is a choice. I can trust as an act of my will, even when I don't feel like it. There is no certainty here. It might not work out. It is sure, though, that if someone doesn't extend trust nothing will happen to make things better. Husband, wife, why not sit down and try? Hurt friend, what you once had with your friend is worth a cup of coffee. Parent of a teen who has become painful to deal with, that uneasy stand-off is--well--uneasy. Could it be that it's worth one more shot? We long for others to give us a second chance. Look at Matthew 7:12and apply it here. It's STTA.