Burden of Proof

Have you ever been accused of lying?  Have you ever shared something with someone and you could see in their eyes that they didn’t quite believe you?  Like maybe they thought part of what you said was true or maybe they thought you were exaggerating the details, or maybe they thought you were just plain lying about everything.  Despite the fact that you were telling the truth, you suddenly feel an urge to defend yourself… to prove to them the truth you know.  It’s frustrating because as much as a part of you may want to give them the burden of proof they need, another part of you says, if they were really your friend they’d believe you without proof.  Friendship is a relationship of trust and faith.  When strange things happen in life, it’s your friends you expect to believe you, share in it with you, defend you and if necessary, battle with you.  A true friend doesn’t  turn against you because they don’t understand something that’s happening to you.  There are things in life that will happen that even you may not fully understand.  It’s a big world with a lot of people.  Life brings each of us unique encounters, both physically and spiritually.  I may not be able to grasp your encounters and you may not be able to understand mine, but it doesn’t negate their reality or their existence.  Whether life’s encounters are able to be proven with logic and fact, becomes irrelevant when compared to the very experience itself.  I’ve come to realize in life that if you walk around trying to prove yourself to everyone, you miss out on the joy of just being yourself.  You can’t worry about what other people may or may not think of you.  You can’t let someone else’s doubt affect what you know to be true.  You can’t waste your time trying to acquire some sort of proof for someone else… they have to walk their own journey of faith.  It's between them and God. If they’re too shallow to believe in you, then they’re not worth the time it would take to prove yourself….and chances are, you’d just have to keep proving yourself over and over for them…and that’s a waste of your joy and your time.  ~