Dear Kitty,

By The Mind Filled on May 7, 2013 • ( 0 )

Dear Kitty,

I was watching Karate Kid III last night. Well, not on purpose; I think a kid left it on. I didn’t really want to look for the remote and did end up getting caught up in a scene.

Mr. Miyagi (yes, I had to google the spelling of that 15 times before I could remember how to spell it in a separate window) and Daniel are leaving the shop that just got trashed by their enemies/opponents. Daniel is (as seems to be typical…this kid’s stressed hormonal level is off the charts) hotheaded and ticked off at the injustice. Mr. Miyagi lightheartedly sings a tune further infuriating Daniel. They pull up to Mr. Miyagi’s house to find that it has been vandalized as well. You would think that Mr. Miyagi would have joined in on Daniel’s rant about justice, but he picks up his pole and decides to go fishing.

The old guy’s patience is rarely seen without serious medication.

I also recently heard a saying lately; “sometimes the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.”

Seems I’ve had a lot of lessons lately in learning to see that sometimes the reward isn’t with the punishment.

We, as Christians especially, are always looking for redemption at any cost to ourselves from others. We forgive and forgive the 70X7, then we expect a divine intervention of a repaired situation.

Yet, as Mr. Miyagi demonstrated with his patience towards seeking justice with a good roundhouse kick, sometimes the juice ain’t worth the squeeze. We aren’t going to win every battle that gets brought to our doorstep or even some of the ones we started. If someone is bent on bringing you pain and hurt, likely you will never change that.

No matter how many times you pray for them and the situation (although you shouldn’t stop) you have to realize that you can’t change a person EVER, you can only change your reaction to them. Sometimes the best thing you can do is walk away and realize that even in the act of letting go, you are grabbing something much better.

I talked with a good friend about this very subject not long ago and she said, “… I had to believe what GOD said about me, my story, my decisions, etc and not give a crap what anyone else thought.”

I think that is why we continue to pursue toxic people and relationships, because we have yet to see ourselves as God sees us. We think we aren’t worth more than the groveling and pleading for just more abuse. We think it is up to us to change someone and the relationship, when it was never in our power to start with.

So ask yourself, is the reward worth the punishment? Is the juice worth the squeeze or will you know who you are and what your worth in God’s eyes and pick up your pole and go fishing?