There are different ways of serving, but the same Lord is served. 1 Corinthians 12:5

How do you handle differences of opinion?  Or disagreements about what is, or isn’t, important?

Sometimes I mistake “getting along” for “having to agree fully” with the other person. When things reach a point of tension, it’s easy for me to experience rejection.  I fool myself into believing that it’s not just my opinion being rejected, but myself.   Yet, I know that isn’t so.

So, when disagreements make me angry or resentful, or when I have convinced myself  that others should place the same importance on something as I do, I come back to a petition of the Deaconess Litany.  As I pray it, I find peace between myself and those with whom I may disagree.

Holy Spirit, guide into all truth:
Endow us with patience to search for your wisdom;
Teach us to speak the truth in a spirit of love;
Free us from fear to learn from each other;
And give us your grace to be different together.

Deaconess Cheryl Erdmann, Loves Park, IL