Recently, one of my daughters had to have laser surgery to fix some retinal problems. It so happened that on the same weekend we went to visit her, another one of my daughters and I unfortunately had a "snafu": a euphemism for a misunderstanding or a falling out — it was not very pleasant, but it, too, needed to be fixed.

That relationship has always been a challenging one. Each time, I am driven back to Scripture and our Lord's words.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a – Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (NIV)

This passage is the gold test for love and loving relationships. The words are so familiar that it is easy to skip over them. Studying them a little more closely, we read that love is not easily angered. No matter how unjust that I might perceive the situation to be, I must not be angry.

Furthermore, I am to keep no record of wrongs. Ouch! That one really hurts. How many times in the past, Lord, and now this! The Word tells me not to keep a record of wrongs.

The passage also tells us that love "always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." Those were my marching orders. I determined to obey them and not to feel hurt again. So I followed the route of occasional phone calls and e-mails, a continual attempt to keep in touch and never sever the lines of communication.

Just as laser surgery is an attempt to patch up what went wrong, so, too, are these steps to patch up what went wrong in the relationship. Happily, the lasering on both fronts was successful.

How are your relationships doing?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank You that Your Word is the guide for us in all of life's situations. We thank You that You are the great, invisible healer, and that You show us the better way. We praise Your name, and we desire to walk in the light of Your love, from now until eternity. Amen.