Conflict

Mary’s Monday Musings to Quilt Encouragement

Conflict

How interesting to watch the difference between a two-year-old trying to resolve a conflict and an 8-year old. While an 8-year old’s conflict resolution ability still has a long way to go, it’s vastly more civilized than a two-year old is able to achieve. “Able,” is the operative word. Their level of understanding lacks a great deal. The ability to try to grasp the reason for another’s point of view or to put another’s interest over our own develops at a different pace and different levels. Sometimes it remains sadly lacking. But growing in a family atmosphere or under the tutelage of a fine teacher who models thoughtfulness and attempts to understand the workings of another’s mind helps us put that understanding into words and develop skills of getting along with those of another mind set.

People don’t arrive at good problem-solving skills overnight. God understands what went into forming each person’s point of view and how they arrived at the thoughts they think. We, humans, don’t have such depth of insight. We need to seek God for the ability to understand other view point when we don’t agree with them. We need to seek God’s help in communicating with others who think differently from us. If we seek God in situations of conflict, we are less apt to allow our human emotions to run away with us. God’s way is less destructive than man’s way. He can teach us how to persuade or at least calm situations. God help us be true stewards of your love in the situations that confront us.