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Ed, this was a wonderful report - sadly many people have experienced the same "breakdowns" due to differing views. But you and your wife have gone the next step, which is to rebuild your community connections to suit you.
I know from years in a small winter community how fragile the connections can be, and how little it can take to break them, and how hard it can be to heal and/or rebuild.
Like you, I am the point of reevaluating one of my long-time volunteer roles - still trying to decide if it is time to retire, or to "wait out" yet another round of leadership changes because of my passion for the group and close connections to other members. On of my close friends keeps saying "We've been through this before - we're still here and they are gone" but the older I get the more I value peaceful interactions and try to avoid stressful ones...
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Am laughing, did a long reply and didn’t post it. Wasn’t meant to I guess.
But I certainly could identify with a lot of what I read. The pandemic did a number on all of us. Am struggling to get out and make a new life for myself, and the problem is ME! It’s easier to sit home, read a book and sipping some wine than going out and socializing.
Then I remembered some advice a friend gave me when my previous husband, who had Alzheimer’s, died: If anyone asks you to do something, do it, even though you may not feel like it. It was, and is good advice, for me anyway.
Am grateful also to be reminded of the Serenity Prayer, what a great tool to handle difficult situations! Thank you.
A quick note: Getting closer to my faith community has helped. A good reminder that we are loved beyond measure, and our God will never leave us, doesn’t matter what!
God bless.
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Yes, Sue, I agree with you. Relationships can be fragile and our hearts are susceptible to much pain.
My greatest tool for guidance is God's Word, his love letter to us. One nugget of wisdom: "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." What makes this do-able is the part about "as far as it depends on you". So we can be at peace with ourselves if we have done what we could ("what is possible"). The rest is up to others. Peace and blessings, Barb