I think we have probably all had those interactions with someone where you walk away feeling like it didn’t go well, and you didn’t show up as the person you would like to be.  Then you spend the next hours even days running over the conversation again and again hoping that the outcome might have been better. That there might be less injury, fewer harsh words, less snarky-ness.

There really is only one remedy to this situation, and that it to return to your companion and have the brave conversation, repent and admit your failure to cherish them. Those conversations are hard. They require us to be brave, to be humble, and to own our failings.

Jesus is telling us that we need to do this before we come to the temple. To show up authentically before God, we need to make peace with our fellow traveller.

Is there someone you need to have a difficult conversation with? Admit your fault with? We cannot be truly present with our God until we do.

By Katherine Gilmore