Breaking the Ice

It has been pretty cold here recently- not as cold as it was in Green Bay on Sunday (-3 degrees minus wind chill from what I understand), but still cold enough. I used to boast that I have ice water running through my veins due to my "Scandahoovian" ancestry...

I do have a pretty high tolerance for physical cold.

Emotional cold is an entirely different thing...

Lately my family and I had been on rather chilly terms after a bit of a blowout/misunderstanding over the holidays about who was going where when over New Year's Eve, etc, etc...

We just left and went home after what had been an otherwise nice day with the family...

In the past I always seemed to rush to try and make peace and apologize (even if I did absolutely nothing wrong) in order to try to make things better. This time around, however, I realized that sometimes I just need to tell it like I see it, and let people hear (in a civil way) what is on my mind and how I feel about that relationship.

I quietly went home with my wife and daughter and we spent time on our own- which was just fine with me... It is great seeing and spending time with one's family of origin, but it can be quite a puzzling, even bizarre experience when a family member gets a chip on their shoulder and it comes out in a surprising way.

I say let bygones be bygones... In order to do that, though, we first need to deal with issue directly... I cannot control what the other person says or does, but I can seek to act and speak with personal integrity...

That is ultimately what matters most, I think- having peace within oneself and with God... I can extend forgiveness and an olive branch, but what the other person does with that is up to them...

I am reminded of the sage words of Reinhold Neibuhr (more familiarly known to many as the "Serenity Prayer" that has been co-opted by AA):

Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

Amen and Amen.

Peace be with you and yours,

John