Thursday, April 12, 2012

?

Have you ever handled a situation in a way that left you feeling uneasy later on?  Not necessarily a sense of regret, just a lack of peace.  That's how I'm feeling right about now.  A friend of mine is going through some difficult things and I'm having a hard time knowing how to respond when I'm in the middle of it.  I saw her last night and there was a bit of a weird interaction and now I've been left with this feeling of anxiousness in the pit of my stomach. 

For a bit of background, she had made a commitment to change some things about her life (voluntarily) and asked a couple of us to hold her accountable.  Since then, she has slowly been sinking back into her old habits and doesn't respond well to people expressing concerns or disapproval.

Such was the case last night.  She end up leaving Bible study annoyed and I left full of doubt about my instincts.  Looking back, I don't know what we should have done differently that would have worked out better, but things did not play out how I'd hoped and I can't figure out how much of it was within my control.  The last thing I want to do is make her feel like she has to hide, but isn't the point of holding someone accountable to ask the difficult questions and lovingly call them out when necessary?  It all sounds great in theory but practicing accountability is much more difficult than I expected.  Is it possible to question someone without pushing them away?  

What do you do when there doesn't seem to be a right answer?  





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