“Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you.” 1 Samuel 12:23

Have you ever come across a person that makes you physically ill?  Although I have known, for a long time, that the Bible requires us to pray for everyone, even our enemies, I very seldom did that.  If truth be told I often did the opposite and just felt condemnation towards them.

Several years ago I was sitting in a women’s conference on parenting, listening to the speaker talk about a lady that she truly could not stand because she was constantly way too positive.  The speaker admitted to trying to avoid her at all cost because she would say things like “praise God for the sunshine,” “thank you Lord for this chair I am sitting in,” “bless you Father for the noisy traffic zooming by.”  She didn’t understand why someone could be so positive for things she did not think were that positive.  A short while later that same, positive, lady committed suicide.  The speaker was devastated and vowed to not turn her back on anyone, especially those that rubbed her the wrong way.

I saw first hand her hurt and began to think of all those people who rubbed me the wrong way.  In the past I would wish bad things on them because in my opinion they deserved it for how they were acting.

Recently, my family had to deal with a tough person that caused a lot of problems for us.  Frustration soared through my body, all the while the only thing that kept coming through my mind was that speaker’s experience.  I hurt for that person, prayed for their health and still pray for their safety and the safety of those around them.  I would not wish what they are going through on anyone.

I vowed not to sin against the Lord by pushing that person to the side, ignoring their issues, but instead I am praying continuously for their heart and soul.

Do you have an “UGH” kind of person in your life?  Pray for your heart to change for them.  Every perspective is different when looked at it through another’s eyes.

My husband and I watched the movie “Saving Mr. Banks” last night (pretty cute if you like the stories behind the stories kind of movies).  In this movie there was a chauffeur that kept talking about how beautiful the sun was, thank God for the sun, and the lady could not understand why he was making such a big deal about something the quite often occurs in “sunny” California.  She even went as far as to say that rain is better because it gives life, to which he replied so does the sun but she still could not understand his obsession with it.  After some time had passed in the movie he explained that he had a daughter who was wheelchair bound and the only time she could get fresh air to feel better was when the sun was out.

“UGH” people are not “those people” just because, maybe they are in need of a little sun or Son in their lives.