Hey Peeps,
While watching a long-time friend go through the all-too-familiar cycle of falling for the wrong person--and refusing to let them go--I was thinking about all the times I fell for "the wrong person" myself.
One guy in particular stands out in my memory: alcoholic, on drugs, could barely hold a job, not a Christian, bragged about his escapades with several other women (and he only chose those who looked like models), etc., etc.
You couldn't have gotten any more opposite of what I really wanted than that. But for some reason, I was smitten. One of the things that attracted me to him was the fact that he had a kind of "Who cares what people think, I'm gonna say it anyway!"-type attitude that I was drawn to. I'd always felt that I had to be very "edited" around good church folks--and I was in the process of trying to break free from that.
I read a devotional once that used the example of a young boy who had an abusive mother.
In a fit of rage, the mother lashed out and burned her young son.
The boy was taken to the hospital and even though he was cared for by a dedicated, compassionate staff--the entire time, he was screaming at them that he wanted his mother.
This, to me, illustrates the relationship that many of us have, or have had, with so many other people in our lives--including relatives and friends we know we should distance ourselves from or let go, but yet, we cling on to them.
Why?
* Is it because we figure negative attention is better than none at all?
* Are we afraid of the "loss" in our lives we'll have if we let that person go?
* Do we keep hoping we can be a good influence on them, and that they'll change? (Eventually...)
Personally, I can say "yes" to all 3 of these questions.
What are some reasons you've held on to someone who was bad for you?
While watching a long-time friend go through the all-too-familiar cycle of falling for the wrong person--and refusing to let them go--I was thinking about all the times I fell for "the wrong person" myself.
One guy in particular stands out in my memory: alcoholic, on drugs, could barely hold a job, not a Christian, bragged about his escapades with several other women (and he only chose those who looked like models), etc., etc.
You couldn't have gotten any more opposite of what I really wanted than that. But for some reason, I was smitten. One of the things that attracted me to him was the fact that he had a kind of "Who cares what people think, I'm gonna say it anyway!"-type attitude that I was drawn to. I'd always felt that I had to be very "edited" around good church folks--and I was in the process of trying to break free from that.
I read a devotional once that used the example of a young boy who had an abusive mother.
In a fit of rage, the mother lashed out and burned her young son.
The boy was taken to the hospital and even though he was cared for by a dedicated, compassionate staff--the entire time, he was screaming at them that he wanted his mother.
This, to me, illustrates the relationship that many of us have, or have had, with so many other people in our lives--including relatives and friends we know we should distance ourselves from or let go, but yet, we cling on to them.
Why?
* Is it because we figure negative attention is better than none at all?
* Are we afraid of the "loss" in our lives we'll have if we let that person go?
* Do we keep hoping we can be a good influence on them, and that they'll change? (Eventually...)
Personally, I can say "yes" to all 3 of these questions.
What are some reasons you've held on to someone who was bad for you?