"Conflicts are natural. People disagree. We let people down. They disappoint us. Jealously occurs. Anger rises. And depression coming from overgeneralizing negative events happens. These are all human problems. They are not going to disappear in our lifetime. But we can begin to transform them. They are mini-crises, and crises are, in part, an opportunity. What we do with that opportunity is up to us.
"Martin Buber said, 'He who loves brings God and the world together.' What better place for this to happen than in a relationship? What better way to give this a chance to happen than to meet other people out of a strong belief that we are loved, and a firm commitment to clearly examine those instances when we begin to become anxious and doubt it? The door to relationships may seem locked by our anxious fear of rejection, exploitation, ridicule, misunderstanding, and loss. Still, with love as the key and Christ as the door, certainly we can begin to face others in a more healthy fashion — not with interpersonal gimmicks that we always seem to forget and expectations that never seem to be met, but with an attitude of hope that knows with strong faith that love is the surprise we can always expect to somehow appear even in those gifts of relationship that seem impossible to open."
