Years after we worked together, that person sent me an invitation to connect on LinkedIn.

• If some time had not passed, I would have declined it instantly and been filled with tons of negative emotions as I did it.

But grace had changed my heart and in spite of all of the behaviors that I disagreed with I had learned to:

• Pray for them.
• Recognize their humanity.
• Ache for them, knowing some personal challenges they were dealing with.
• Appreciate their strengths.
• And even enjoy their personality.

And yet, in spite of the changes in my heart, I still had no reason to trust them.  

• My gut kicked when I tried to imagine this person being truthful about much of anything.
• I knew my network had significant value to them and my gut said that was the real reason for the invitation.
• And when I tried to imagine them valuing the people or the relationships in that network, my gut responded again emphasizing that they were just a means to an end.

So after much thought and prayer I decided that although there are things I would be willing to do for them, this was not one of them.  

And I declined the invitation.

Some recent events jogged that memory out of my mental database and this quote from Stephen M.R. Covey keeps running through my mind…

“There is one thing that is common to every individual, relationship, team, family, organization, nation, economy and civilization throughout the world – one thing which, if removed will destroy the most powerful government, the most successful business, the most thriving economy, the most influential leadership, the greatest friendship, the strongest character, the deepest love.  

 On the other hand, if developed and leveraged that one thing has the potential to create unparalleled success and prosperity in every dimension of life.  Yet it is the least understood, most neglected and most underestimated possibility of our time.  

 That one thing is trust.”  

Please share:

• [Tweet “Have you ever created a boundary in a relationship because of a trust issue?”]
• Have you ever juggled the desire to offer grace and kept a boundary in place at the same time?
• How do you cultivate trust with others?

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