Practice
Let's get reckoning.
These are some of the habits I use to cultivate relationships across lines of difference or through experiences of conflict. They are adaptable to many contexts, and this is not an exhaustive list.
Tell your story-- your whole story.
The first step to living together is being brave enough to share who we are-- even the parts we'd rather never tell.
Insert confession and absolution into your daily life.
Learn to say you're sorry and to accept apologies when they are given to you.
Adopt a posture of humility.
Discover your God-shaped place in the whole order of things, and know that it is meant exactly for you-- and that God shapes places for everyone else, too.
You are human.
Deal with it.
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. It's ok. The trick is to know it, and to practice extending grace-- to others and yourself.
Embrace curiosity.
You know what they always say about assumptions. When engaging across lines of difference, start and continue and end with lots of questions.
Nurture resilience.
The primary object of resilience is flourishing-- in the face of, in spite of, tension or difference.
