The Pendulum (Part 1)

Karl and I were talking about trust last night and he was able to give such a clear picture of how trust is built in relationships, especially when that trust has been breached for some reason.  (no, it wasn’t that we had breached each other’s trust, it's through observation of others).

When trust has been neglected in the past and someone wants to rebuild that trust, they must realize the laws of the Kingdom.  These are very clear and precise laws, just like the law of gravity.  To make this a little clearer, he used the example of the pendulum.

When the bob at the bottom has been swung out to one side (let’s say for illustrative purposes, it starts on the right, then swings left), when released, it has to swing on its frictionless pivot the exact distance on the other side of middle (equilibrium position).  When that pendulum swings back to the right, it goes the full distance, then back again.  We all know how that works.  (Wikipedia has a great page on pendulums, which is really cool for you science buffs.)

Here’s the thing about a pendulum.  If there is no resistance, that pendulum will continue swinging at the same amplitude forever and ever.  If friction is introduced, the bob will eventually slow to a stop.

The same law applies in relationships where trust has been broken.  The lies, hurts, and deceit have caused that pendulum to be drawn to the right – the magnitude of the offense determines the height of the swing.  When the realization comes that amends must be made, the pendulum is released and the bob starts its infamous swing all the way to the reciprocating height on the left side.  This first swing of the pendulum is absolutely the hardest part of the journey.  It begins a volley of rebuilding trust – and it’s not an easy journey.  Quite frankly, only the strong will survive.  And usually the only ones to survive are those who put their lives in the hands of the Lord. 

When that pendulum is set in motion, once that bob has fallen to equilibrium position, (and often when it’s just being dropped) the offender feels they have made such headway and should be qualified for complete trust.  It’s as though the mere motion of the pendulum swinging is the magic line of “hey, I’m on the right track so you have to trust me completely.  If you don’t, it’s going to really make me mad!”

What is forgotten (if it was ever really known to begin with) is the law that was put in motion when the offense took place.  You can’t break God’s laws!  They are REAL.  There is a full swing to the left that must be completed before real trust can begin to be brought back into the equation.  This is where both sides of the pendulum struggle the most.  The one who started the pendulum swinging in the first place wants complete trust at the beginning of the drop cycle or somewhere to the right of equilibrium position.  The minute the offender has made small changes in the right direction, they feel they should have the trust of the one they’ve sinned against.  The problem with that ideology is this - there is still the whole travel length of the downward swing to get to equilibrium AND the whole upward swing from the force of the height of where the bob was dropped in the first place.  The one who has been hurt can’t possibly give trust until it’s been proven – and the proving part is the whole swing of the pendulum, downward and upward.  (Part 2 tomorrow)

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