Evolution of a Relationship

I have an ultimate favorite 'spiritual' book (besides the scriptures, of course) titled, "Spiritual Lightening" by M. Catherine Thomas. I've been feeling confused about a particular turn of events in my life lately then felt like I needed to re-read a chapter in this book. Thought I'd share it with you:

"We tend to see life's experiences as random, helter-skelter in their design but it would appear that all the people in our lives are there for important reasons. We stand in a sacred relationship to them. They and we cannot be made perfect without eachother. By divine design, they are not there to satisfy us. Rather, they are given to us to make possible a much greater love than we would have been capable of in a situation where everybody agreed with us, everybody loved us, everybody saw everything the way we do. They are there to change us and to tell us what we need to know and to help us evolve along godly lines. Those who are difficult and abrasive in our lives are friends in disguise. They are there to teach us to perfect love in ourselves, not to perfect them....

"What if life were entirely fabricated to teach us the lessons we neeed to know, even down to the people crossing our paths day in and day out and even the things these people have to say to us?...What if our only real assignment in life was to listen carefully, with reverence, being touched in an intimate way, changing and evolving from our associations with each other...

"I am learning that being task-oriented, being too attached to my day-planner, misses the point of life: tasks are just means by which God gets us together so that we can affirm and encourage and bless and learn from eachother. It is people-work that really matters. People are not interruptions in what we want to get done--they are the reasons we're here!" (pp. 141, 143)

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It's easy to love people who are easy to love. But I would venture to say that the relationships that have really made us better people are the ones we have had to work really hard and really long at. Marriages. Sisterhood. Parent-child. Close Friends. I can't think of any true, lasting relationship I've had with anyone that hasn't included some irritating moments, tongue-biting, soul-searching, and a lot of over-looking and forgiving. Thank you, to all of the people who have crossed my path and made me who I am today. The evolution is sometimes a painful one, but if we learn to ebb and flow with the tides and not give up, it's worth it in the end.

*(Note: Obviously the 'hard' times referred to are the typical day-to-day struggles...this does not apply to relationships that are abusive in any form.)

So tell me...what do you think about evolving relationships and which ones are you most grateful for?