AM: I don’t want to have a friendship with X. 

Betty: No, watch that. Because that comes across to me as what I call sour grapes. You don’t want to go there. Where you really want to go is, “Lord, if that is what’s best for your divine plan, then let it happen.” See, that’s the place where you want to go. But don’t get into the sour grapes thing. Because again, it’s not honest.  If it’s important for your spiritual development and the plan that God has for evangelization or whatever, then in God’s time, it’ll work out. But that’s the Lord’s problem. It’s not yours. It’s not mine. Tell the Lord that you’re sorry you engaged in the game of sour grapes. Because it really wasn’t true. You’re lying to yourself? 

AM: “Lord, I am sorry that I played the game of sour grapes and not being honest. Please help me to be honest and to give these feelings to you.” 

Betty: That’s it. You don’t run away and hide the feelings and say, “It’s ok.” But rather you go to the Lord and say, “Lord, I’m hurting. I don’t know what’s with me today, but I’m hurting. You know the whole thing. Can you help me to understand what’s going on, so I can make some different decisions here?” See, that’s being upfront. The Lord is very good at handling truth. He feels at home with it. 

AM: “Lord, I do give you this part that’s hurting. I don’t want to continue this behavior, because I need to be open to where you’re calling me to and not react to people.” 

Betty: Yeah, now, actually say it. “Lord, it does hurt that I thought X was my friend.

AM: “So Lord, I do feel sorry that I did have a friendship there. And then when Y came, it felt like I got booted out.” 

Betty: Okay, now what did that do to you inside? Tell Jesus about it. 

Is there a strained relationship in your life? Rather than going into “sour grapes,” you could pray, “Lord, if that relationship is what’s best for your divine plan, then let something happen to heal this.”