“Sometimes the people who have the most effect on our lives are the ones who cause us the most pain.” As soon as I read these words in Cheryl Richardson’s Unmistakable Touch of Grace, things really came together and made sense for me. “I never thought of it that way before”, I remember saying to myself – and knew that this was a major AHA moment in my life.

The AHA came through knowing that the very challenging relationship (if you want to call it that) that I’ve been in and out of for the last 4 years had happened for a reason in my life – but I could never put my finger on exactly why I experienced such turmoil and challenge – and difficulty – while others’ relationships "seemed" to be smooth sailing. And I’ve read in different places, that the people we end up with romantically, we attract karmicly and they are there to heal old wounds from the past – for each other. But even with this knowledge, I couldn’t get past the real “why” to the turmoil piece until reading the aforementioned words in Cheryl’s book.

I immediately took off my victim hat and replaced it with my grateful one and began looking back over the years and took inventory of how much I learned by “calling” this person into my life. I learned that there were things I would have never seen in terms of myself, family dynamics, etc. if this particular person hadn’t come into my life. I also learned that there was so much more growing I needed to do, when at a time, I thought I was ready to settle down.

The experience with him, and many, many others, has taught me to be grateful for the relationships – especially the ones that are challenging – because they do show us our truth. The statement, “God speaks to us through people”, so true. And by waking up and really taking inventory of the people in our lives – the ones we love – the ones who push all our buttons and drive us crazy – are all there for a reason – to raise our consciousness and support us on the path.

So I suggest 1) picking up a copy of Cheryl Richardson’s Unmistakable Touch of Grace and 2) really accessing the relationships, past & present, that you’ve called into your life – bosses, spouses, friends, colleagues, etc. – and look at what they’ve taught you and can teach you about yourself and your life. Looking at our life this way truly does provide peace – and a knowing that everything is as it should be – and all is right J