I’m dog sitting for three very lovable beagle mixes.

One is a very normal, hyperactive, well-adjusted dog who likes who chew on sticks and bones and toys and whatever else he can get his little paws on. The other two came from abusive situations and were quite skittish around me. At first, one barked incessantly at me.

But over time, they’ve come to trust me more and not be afraid of me.

That’s the way human relationships work. You meet some people and instantly bond and there’s no awkwardness at all. Others are harder to get to know and don’t warm up as easily to you.

When you seek to love people and to reach people for Jesus, He sends people into your life who can’t believe God loves them until they see that love coming from you.

Those are the ones you’ll want to instantly label as jerks or arrogant or mean or stuck-up or just not friendly. Those are the ones who are hardest to love yet the ones who need God’s love the most. They need to see God’s love THROUGH YOU the most.

As usual, I’m preaching to myself. I need to be better at giving others the grace that I love so much and so often expect from others.

I’m not there yet, but God is working on me.