"I won't be IGNORED!"

Remember that classic line from Glenn Close in "Fatal Attraction"? Any woman watching that scene could relate to that line. Even if you aren't a home-wrecking, man-stealing, psychopath, one thing ALL women can relate to is how much we HATE being ignored.

A good friend of mine told me something a while back that I'll never forget. She said, "Some people are miserable enough to go out of their way to make you feel left out and ignored." At the time I thought she was expressing the sentiment of someone who was extremely paranoid. But as time moved forward, I began to clearly see what she meant.

Ever get the feeling that someone is INTENTIONALLY ignoring you? You go out of your way to get to know them, only to be rebuffed with silence? You make yourself available to them repeatedly but get no response from them? Your first thought may be, "Oh they're just busy and will reach out when they have time." Except, you soon notice that they reach out to others pretty regularly...just not you. :-) Ever felt this way?

What does it mean? Maybe they already have enough friends, and just aren't interested in making anymore. Maybe they find your particular personality annoying. That's possible. Maybe they think you're being fake, because NO ONE can be THAT genuinely nice! Or maybe they are envious of you. You and your encouraging smiles actually remind them of how unhappy they are. Who knows!

That's the overall point I am getting to. Who knows, and who CARES? I don't think we should love people any less because they don't jump for joy when we come around. Maybe if we try to be more understanding of the fact that they are at a period in their life right now where they are just not that into you. They definitely have that right, and it should be respected. If we genuinely care about them, wouldn't we focus more on praying for them than analyzing why they aren't reacting to us a certain way in the flesh?

Sometimes being ignored is a good thing. Maybe it's not meant for you to be caught up in whatever drama they may have going on. And maybe it's meant for you to stay strong and far enough away from their situation to provide the best type of assistance possible...the fervent prayers of a strong believer. Being ignored doesn't seem so bad when you think of it this way, does it? :-)