Some people in our Bible study have said and done things to hurt us.

They talked behind our backs instead of confronting us.

They doubt our parenting skills with Olivia.

(They see her lack of sharing and worry that we encourage it.)

They think that keeping Benjamin with us is selfish of us, as it distracts others.

(We would put him downstairs, but it is not baby-proof, and only a 14 and a 16-year-old are down there supervising a dozen children, most of whom are toddlers.)

Most of all, what really hurts, is that we thought we had established healthy relationships. It turns out they are not as close of friends as we had originally thought. Rather than discuss these things with us as they occurred, they distanced themselves from us as they gossiped about the situation with others.

Now we feel lonely. We feel incompetent. We feel discouraged.

And we are meeting tomorrow (rather, tonight) to discuss these things with the group.

I don’t want to go. I want to run away. I want to move. I want to hide under the covers.

But Josh is making me go.

Pray for us.