Conflict Resolution
Our time in town continues to be busy. Dan's surgery went well, and we are int he midst of dentist appointments, vaccinations, and a mountain of paperwork. We hope to head out to Tsoroja in just a couple of weeks.
A couple of nights ago ended on a pretty sour note when our teammate left our house in tears after an argument that seemed to come out of nowhere. Wanting her to have a chance to talk over what had happened with her husband, Dan and I decided to wait until the next morning to talk. We went over to their house the next day, and her husband ended up taking the lead as mediator which worked well since he wasn't actually involved in the conflict. He opened the whole thing in prayer which impressed me as a wise and mature thing to do. Dan, our teammate, and I all had the opportunity to share what we felt had gone on. In the end, it seemed to be a big misunderstanding. She was operating from a very open relationship with me and felt she could just be blunt, but Dan took it as disrespectful to me and got protective. I was just mostly confused as to why each of them was so upset!
We were able to talk about it in depth, and I think came out understanding each other even better. I know I feel closer to my teammate as a result simply because she was able to express her love for me and appreciation of our relationship. After the whole thing was over, I am left thinking about how different conflict looks (or should look)in the life of a believer versus the life of someone who doesn't have Christ. Between the argument and its resolution all three of us were concerned for the others and could hardly stand not having it right between us. There was no defensiveness, just a genuine desire to understand what had happened. 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter, talks abotu love not seeking its own and keeping no record of wrongs. I realize that love that hasn't experienced the grace of God is really and incomplete love and is unable to really do those things. It's because we have each experienced God's love that holds no record of our sins and loves us without the expectation of return that we were able to offer that kind of love to one another.
In all, I think we chose the right team...