It’s too simplistic to say “s/he broke a promise so we’re done”. Or is it?

Is a simple break of a promise sufficient grounds to break off a relationship? What if I know that s/he is going through tremendous healing, learning the habits that s/he never learned growing up? What if that person didn’t have the parenting that was absent through the formative and crucial pre-teen, teen, and early adulthood years? What if that person was on their own because they’d been forced to cope with all of life’s challenges themselves from an early age? What if one recognizes that person is struggling to learn these habits, but isn’t perfect? How many second chances is enough? Is it good to give more chances? Does this compromise my own integrity? Am I still helping if I recognize forward progress, even though it’s of the “2-steps forward, 1-step backward” variety? What does “I’m only human” really mean? Is it an excuse? Is it a valid recognition of imperfection? When does that trump a promise? What does “Sorry” really mean? …

Published to:

• KFJournal.org
• Collaborolog