Sandpaper.

I shared this story with some youth on Sunday night, and I decided to share it here too, just so I can talk more about how God is amazing!
As I've mentioned a zillion times, this past year has been one of incredible growth for me. One pivotal moment during this time was the Sunday that our minister preached about Sandpaper People. I wish I had the transcript of this sermon to share, because he said it a lot better than I ever could. Basically, as followers of Christ, we are called to love, but there are inevitably some people who are just hard to love. For whatever reason, we all know people who are tiring, trying, who rub us the wrong way--they are our "sandpaper people." I know these people. They are my neighbors, my coworkers, sometimes even my friends. I'm impatient and I struggle with extending grace to those who frustrate me or who don't make my life easier; therefore, I have lots of sandpaper people. I'm not proud of that. My way of dealing with these people, should I get to the point where I want to do something about it, is to pray something like, "Dear God, please don't let so-and-so get on my nerves today." Surprisingly (ha), that doesn't work.
Our minister offered a solution in his sermon: we are called to pray for our sandpaper people. Not the selfish prayer I was offering up, but an honest, heartfelt prayer about each person. I was resistant to this at first. I didn't want to spend my time praying for people I don't like! But I got to a point where I really didn't have another choice. So I chose a couple of sandpaper people to start with, and every night before I went to bed, I would say a prayer for those people. Something along the lines of "Please work in so-and-so's life and help him/her live out your plan." It was a small gesture, but I did it every day. I wasn't sure what I expected to happen... and I shouldn't have been surprised when I started to notice a change. The people I was praying for weren't changing--not in ways I could detect, anyway. My heart was changing. I've always been a little skeptical of people who say things like, "God changed my heart!" I don't know why... probably because I'd never really noticed that happening. (Not that it wasn't happening; I just wasn't open and receptive to it.) I don't know if I can fully explain how this little experiment has changed me. I am more tolerant and more patient of these people who push my buttons... but more than that, I have found that it is possible, and not difficult, for me to love them. What a blessing!
I encourage you to try this. If there is someone in your life who tends to rub you the wrong way, pray for them. Truly pray for that person, an unselfish and honest prayer. Do this constantly. And I promise, your heart will be changed. If God can change my hard heart, I have no doubt that He can change yours too.