How do you respond when a person doesn’t meet your expectations?

Do you meet them where they are, or do you reject them for not being the person you want them to be?

How often do you show grace and let them be the person they are?

Showing grace to others even when you think they don’t deserve it is one of the most amazing things you can do.

I agree that it’s easy to get annoyed or irritated with people when you feel slighted or wronged by them, but don’t forget, the narrative about being mistreated is about you and not them. It’s about your desire about how you think they should act that’s causing you discomfort.

If we turn the tables for a moment, then don’t you hope that you might be accorded a degree of grace when you ultimately fail to meet the expectations that someone else has for you?

Showing grace is not always easy. What’s easy is falling into behavior patterns that are deeply embedded in your personality. To show grace when you’re angry or frustrated takes a degree of self-awareness and deliberate action because you are intentionally creating a new behavior pattern.

Of course, you’re not required to show grace. You can continue through life as you are, expecting people to live up to your expectations and getting annoyed when they don’t. But that’s going to be a bumpy journey for you and those around you – if they continue to stick around.

Ultimately, showing grace is a choice you get to make. Through your actions and words, you can choose to make people you interact with feel accepted as they are or rejected for who they are. And while you might feel justified in the way you treat them, hopefully, they’ll show grace for the person you are.

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