  On Sunday at Harvest, James MacDonald spoke about relationships. I Peter 3: 8-?. He was talking about how difficult they are to maintain. Be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, ect... Sure. Of course. It makes perfect sense, and while hard, it is doable.
But what about my relationships with those who don't live by the same rules I live by? Those who don't believe Jesus is the Christ and therefore live their lives according to a different world view. I am realizing that in this world, very few people actually look at things the same way I do. Talk about feeling like a fish out of water. Everything I do and say is completely foreign and bizarre to my new friends. It is like trying to live life with people who don't even speak the same language.
I suppose we could just smile and nod and pretend that we have great relationships, but in attempting to go deep and learn each other's languages, I am finding seemingly insurmountable roadblocks. It is tiring. It is frustrating. It is lonely. It makes me want to cry. And the worst part is that I feel lost.
I feel like I don't know the appropriate way to respond. I want to explain my heart and my reasons for why I do what I do, but I don't know if they would understand if I tried. These relationships make me thankful for those who are cut from the same cloth. They make me wish these people were on the same page. They make me long for home, where sinful people do not mess up simple processes like communication. 
