What is toxic in your life?

In the past week something has weighed very heavy on my heart. The word "toxic" comes to mind. Which means "something that has poison in it." A lot of things can be toxic in our lives: relationships, addictions, laziness, health, overly doing something, and many other things.

Today I want to hit on relationships. We all can sit here and think of at least one or two people that we could do away with in our lives. These are the people who put you down, discourage you, don't share in your passions, they aren't receptive to your advice, want to argue with you, live in fear of your rejection. These are a few things that have been brought to my own life.

Its hard to let people go and especially if you care for them but some are so toxic that they need to be out of your own personal life. It will only bring you more pain and anxiety to your daily life. Is this how God wants us to live? He truly wants us to have people in our lives where people encourage us and we encourage others.

A way of living in a healthy friendship has been taught to me this way:
1) Have people who are more mature spiritually to invest in you. This has been very vital in my life. I have learned so much from a woman who has walked some hard roads with me. She has loved me the way God loves me.
2) Have a few friends on your own level of spiritual maturity. These friends you both encourage one another. You walk life together. Play sports, run, drink coffee together, text daily, hang out with on the weekends, go on trips together.
3) Have people you invest in. We have people we need to love on. But make sure this relationship DOES NOT become toxic. Because they can become this way. We need to make sure we do have a couple people we invest our time in. We become fulfilled this way. Also God wants us to have these people to pour into.

We aren't called to do life alone but we are for sure not called to live in miserable toxic relationships. So work on getting rid of those toxic people who bring you down and find the JOY in healthy relationships that the lord has called us to!