Thankful Thursday! Relationships......

Today a very dear friend sent me the following story and I just had to share it today:
Fable of the porcupine

It was the coldest winter ever and many animals died because of the cold.
Some porcupines, realizing the gravity of the situation, decided to group together to share warmth.
This way they were better covered and protected; however - the quills of each one wounded their closest companions. After a while they decided to distance themselves one from the other and soon after they began to die, alone and frozen.
So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth.
Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. They learned to accept the little wounds that were caused by these close relationships, in order to benefit from
what their companions offered. It was this way that they were able to survive and thrive. Moral of the story:

The best relationships are not ones that bring together perfect beings,
but are instead ones where individuals learn to live with the imperfections of others and can still accept the gifts they have to offer.

This reminded me of church family and friends.


Just as the following scripture reminds us:
1 Peter 2:21-23 (New International Version)

21To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
22"He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."[a] 23When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

I'm thankful for my amazing Christian family that love me enough to hold me close - even when I wound them with my words and actions!

In Christ and still growing,

Holly :)