I know that I can’t trust someone beyond his/her spiritual commitment. If someone has made a total surrender to the God of his/her understanding, (which of course we generally take back on a daily basis), then I trust them with anything. That doesn’t mean that he/she will always be able to keep my confidences.

I learned early in my recovery that if I was betrayed by someone that God could still make it OK for me. My acceptance of the betrayal eased the way for Him to work with me to trust others.

I recognize my trust level from a song of Steve Winwood’s. The words I identify with are: “When there’s no one left to leave you, and even you can’t quite believe you, that’s when nothing can deceive you.”

Ultimately, I know that everyone pretty much decides for himself/herself whatever he/she wants to believe about me. I like that slogan that whatever you think of me is none of my business. I’ve also learned to accept that people change their minds about me.

The dynamics in relationships are fluid and rarely fixed. So if I keep my trust in the God of my understanding, I have nothing to fear about trusting others. Will my trusted ones betray me? Possibly, but what hurts worse is that I may betray them also. We never reach perfection in this life. But I am getting better. Some posts about trust include the following:

Ask Maddisen–How to Build Strong Trust Muscles

Should You be a Tour Guide or an Expedition Leader?

Learning to Trust: Let Go of Your Fear and Let Your Guard Down

5 Steps to Deal with Self-Doubt and Trust Yourself Again

I Have Trust Issues.

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