The Sweetest Weakness

“Live in such a way that if anyone should speak badly of you, no one would believe it.”

- Origins from 1 Peter 3:16

So… what makes someone trustworthy?

            I can almost guarantee that you’ll get a variety of responses based on someone’s personal value system. “Trust” is loosely defined as “a firm reliance on the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing”. Today, I'm applying it to those who are close to you. In my humble opinion, I think it boils down to a case of positive dependability. Allow me to explain: Can you depend on them to keep a secret for instance (positive)… or can you depend on them to spill the beans, regardless of what it is, to someone else (negative/pseudo/false trust)? Hopefully I haven’t lost you yet, haha.

My ‘Ah-ha!” Moment

Right… so why I am talking about this today.

I had an “Ah-ha!” moment this afternoon while chatting with someone very near and dear to me. When I responded with "I trust you”, that statement turned out to be more significant and true than I could have ever imagined. I always believed that it was a noble and graceful thing to give people the benefit of the doubt. To a degree, I still believe that; however I think I see the bigger picture much more clearly now.

A Precious Gift:

You see, choosing to see the best in someone is not synonymous with trust; I had always lumped the two together. Trust is a precious gift and now I understand why people would say that you “earn it” and why they lament that if “trust” is broken, it is incredibly difficult to gain back. That is not to say that you shouldn’t forgive someone for letting you down (since that is a very human thing); what I am saying is that you may need to step back and evaluate the INTENT and severity of the indiscretion that was committed (such as forgetting to put the toilet seat down).

Shrewd-ness can oftentimes be a tough pill to swallow. If you can trust someone to always let you down – that’s not “trust” (remember the “positive/negative” example?). Please understand that you are NOT called to love someone less because of his or her character flaws. Instead, use them as a springboard for your own development. Remember, “Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone (John 8 : 7 – if you don’t know this story)”.

The Bottom line

Since trust is often something earned, I have learned to allow people to earn it and ACKNOWLEDGE those who have it… that my friends, has made all the difference and truly is the sweetest of weaknesses.

Lots of Love,
Emma xoxo