When I say “I understand but don’t agree,” I mean “I understand but don’t agree.

Correct, I repeated the same thing. That was not an error. With me, there is no need for you to read between the lines. I’m not P.C. and will not sugar coat things. I am kind and will always speak with an intention of fulfilling my personal mission, but what I say is what I mean and what I mean is what I say. Reading between the lines is unnecessary.

Four years ago God’s love transformed my life. The revelation of the depth of His love opened my eyes. I’ve been on a journey to live out John 14:34-35 ever since. To Love as Jesus loves. There are times I failed and misunderstood what His love looked like in a situation because I’ve lived my whole life seeing love lived out by humans. The stronger my relationship with God gets, the more likely I am to be successful in loving as He loves – even in tough situations.

One of the greatest lessons I learned was from Danny Silk. The goal of communication in a relationship is understanding, not agreement. If I can understand you I am able to love more like Jesus because I’m not filtering your words or actions alone; understanding allows me to assess motives. In many cases understanding the why will cause us to have more compassion and patience for those we are in relationship with.

Requiring agreement in a relationship as a measure of success may cause one of the individuals within the relationship to have to compromise their own thoughts. When this happens, both parties are dishonoring themselves and the other. It brings frustration, resentment, and apathy.

When I say “I understand. I don’t agree,” I am not saying “I am right and you are wrong.” Im also not saying “your an idiot. I know better than you.” I don’t think less of you or feel your thought is lesser than mine. I’m saying “I understand. I don’t agree.”

We don’t have to agree. I honor you by caring enough to try to understand. I honor you enough by allowing you to have your own thought. Having my own thought and not agreeing with you does not mean I need you to think as I do. If I believe it’ll bring freedom, peace, and hope to your life, I’ll state that, but ultimately, it’s your choice. I do not have to agree with you. You do not have to agree with me.

Michael is the human being I most love in his world and we don’t agree on everything, so I can guarantee that I won’t agree with you on everything. 😊 heck, sometimes I don’t know if I agree with myself 😂 I’m a thinker. I have questions. I’m not afraid to question things – not even myself. Sometimes I’m wrong.

It’s possible I don’t agree with you, but down the road I will. Ask Michael. He can attest. For now, just know if I ever say “I understand. I don’t agree,” you know I’m saying “I understand. I don’t agree.” 😊

That’s me loving and honoring you. We don’t need to agree for me to cheer you on and want the best God has for you.

So, know that I’m learning to love as He loves. I’ve been learning a lot over these last few years, but am still learning. One day when I’m more confident in what God’s love looks like in human expressions, I’ll write a book and have a teaching series 😊. For now, I’m in class, learning. I’m gonna make mistakes. But you won’t be required to read between the lines. If that was ever the case, not anymore.

If you want to know what I think, ask. You may not like the answer, but then again, you asked. Honest and authentic is what you’ll get.

Anyone else want to join me on this super ultra vulnerable way of living? It’s scary but extremely freeing.