Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Sandpaper People

I've been doing some research on sandpaper. It amazes me how sandpaper can be so similar to difficult people in our lives. Sandpaper comes in different sizes of grit. The lower the grit the rougher the sandpaper. The higher the grit, the smoother the sandpaper. I think I would be safe in saying that we all have people in our lives that "rub us the wrong way"

There is a term when talking about sandpaper that is called "Going through the grits". It refers to the process of sanding where a woodworker uses progressively finer pieces of sandpaper to get a smooth finish. By going through the grits each progressive piece of sandpaper removes the scratches from the previous piece. Skipping grits to save time is not necessarily a good idea. You will often end up sanding longer just to remove the scratches left by the previous grit.

I don't know if this is as amazing to you as it is to me but I find it very helpful in understanding why there are "difficult" people in my life. It isn't about them at all! It is about what God is doing in ME!! Sometimes when these "Sandpaper People" come into our lives, we try to run as far away from them as possible. We do everything in our power to avoid them. But God will always just bring them back around again or someone else who is JUST like them.

Do you have a "Sandpaper person" in your life? Stop for a minute and ask yourself..."What is God trying to teach me through this person?" By doing this, I truly believe that God will show you and you will grow by leaps and bounds. Be obedient to what he is showing you and then act upon it. And remember, YOU too are someone's Sandpaper person and are rubbing them the wrong way as well!