Emotional Walls

[Rigatoni]

One thing that can be really frustrating is dealing with emotional walls. I like connecting with people in deep, emotional and personal ways. But, there have been times when that has proven difficult; not everyone is willing to let you in and be completely vulnerable / honest / trusting towards you, especially right away. It can be hard to deal with sometimes.

Has anyone else had experiences like this?

 

[Swan7]

If I understand this post correctly, for me it has been the opposite.

In the past, before giving my life fully to Christ, I had no problem connecting with people in this way. Even though I had trust issues with people, I still desperately clung to belonging even more.

But because I had been walking in the ways of this world for so long, when I gave my life to God, the slate had been wiped clean - so to speak. It's like I'm learning to walk, feel, and speak in His ways rather than my way or the world's ways.

I hope that made sense.

 

[Jamminontha1]

I know what you mean. Everyone is different when it comes to speaking to people in general. Before I gave my life to Christ, I was very anti-social. No one was allowed to speak to me unless I spoke to them first. If I found they were trying to converse with me, I would leave ASAP, but I did notice that some people would say things to me like "Have a blessed day." or "Bless you." Although it was something that was annoying to hear, it did make me feel strangely good inside.

On the contrary, I would only let my family to speak to me about God, until I started to feel like they were trying to control me or make me feel like I'm a bad person, but when they kept it simple by saying "God loves you." or "It's never too late to ask for forgiveness." or "God's mercy is abundant." That stuck more in my head as a positive memory and it was more encouraging than someone saying that Christ died for me or the end is near. To a non-christian, they just really don't know what it means or the significance of it.

I would suggest to keep it simple. Talk about life before you get into the gospel, because for some, it can be a heavy topic. You never know what they blame God for or how they feel about him. When I talk to people about God, I use "for me, God has...." instead of saying God can, because some just simply don't believe in God and they need/want your personal examples and testimonies and not your theology unless they have question. That's worked for me at least.

 

[Rigatoni]

Those are good points - I guess it really is important to have Jesus as your foundation, rather than relying on others for that. You can't force others to be open, just love them as they are.