by Crystal Cook

Created on: September 14, 2006   Last Updated: April 30, 2007

Trust is a valuable and precious thing to have as well as give. The essence of trust is faith. Faith means believing in something you cannot see nor touch nor feel. When we have faith we have hope. Hope is rooted in trust.

We should afford everyone a token of conditional trust. By conditional, I mean we do not prejudge or assume someone is unworthy of our trust in them. Unless we have factual knowledge of a person's misdeeds before we come to know them, we cannot assume they are an unworthy recipient of our trust.

Sometimes we know, or think we know, if a person is deserving of our trust right away. Often our first instincts prove to be true. Sadly though trust can be broken after many years of friendship or partnership, relationships deteriorate, wrong choices are made and the fragile shelf we've placed our trust upon shatters. When this happens it is often hard to pick up the pieces.

We walk a fine line when we extend our trust to one another; we become vulnerable in a sense. We should trust with caution when it comes to people we do not know until we see just how much of ourselves we can give. The heart is a fragile thing, easily broken and difficult to mend.

Sometimes trust is feely and without pause given, I trust in the Lord without hesitation. When a child is born it has only trust to give, in honoring that precious trust we are teaching of its value. If we do not we are teaching a pure heart to fear. I have trusted my mother since I was placed into her womb, without a doubt I know my trust is safe within her care.

Most all trust does indeed need to be earned and then it needs to be nurtured and tended to. It grows with time but is always in danger of painful demise if it is not honored as it should be. I know if I wish to gain the trust of a friend I must first be a friend, a true friend. I must honor the gift I have been given and in return, offer my own.

We cannot expect it, we must earn it. We must give it if we are to receive it. So simple in its complexity . . . so complex in its simplicity. It is a fine thing to know you are worthy of another's trust. It is a gift that gives back when it is given.

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