Skim off the fat

I was thinking about certain relationships in my life this morning. How some totally bless my socks off, some make me want to commit a crime, some challenge me, and so on... I remember one morning listening to a study by Beth Moore. She was talking about 3 different types of friendships. One's that make you want to be a better person - they inspire you, build you up, are honest, hold you accountable, are godly. Then there are one's that when you're in their presence there's almost an oppression hovering over - somethings just not right, there's never any Godly discussion (even with your prompting) you walk away feeling less of a person, dark, just "off". Beth Moores opinion on that kind is run for your life! Then there is the 3rd kind - the one that I actually found myself running from mostly. The one that, like I mentioned in the beginning, make you want to commit a crime. The relationships where you find yourself saying, "they just bring out the worst in me." Well get ready - and Praise God! You've got to be kidding right! Unfortunately this makes so much sense. You have that friendship in your life right now don't you? The one that causes you to think terrible things, leaves you impatient, gossiping, you know! Good - consider that relationship a gift - take all those bad things it brings out, recognize them, pray over them, deal with them, conquer them and be a better person because of it. It's like boiling fatty chicken. The longer it boils the more fat and impurities come to the surface. In order to get the best juice and stock you need to skim off all the impurities that have risen to the top. That's what we need to do in these situations too... see it for what it is, skim it off and enjoy some chicken...just a thought!