Relapse or Real Love

My friend injured his ankle while playing basketball last Sunday. He seemed to recover fast and was trying to walk it out even with a little discomfort, psyching himself that its going to be alright. After 2 days, he was able to walk well as if nothing happened. But last night, he complained that his ankle was hurting much, more than ever. He he had to rest it out today, the whole day. What happened was a relapse.
Sometimes, without resolving issues and having genuine forgiveness, we act as if our hurts and arguments are already healed or settled, only to cause much more damage later. We tend to be just 'civil' about relationships. In the meantime, like an unattended injury, it becomes worse. When new issues come up, the old unresolved problems suddenly surface, causing much more resentments, causing a big 'relapse.'
What do we do? We seek. First, we seek for the grace of humility. Without this, relationships will get nowhere. Then, we seek to understand. Listening will go a long way. All of us were raised in different homes with different childhood experiences. What triggers the other might not be an issue to another person. Allow each other to express and unload feelings without interruption. As Covey would put it, 'seek first to understand then be understood.' Then, we seek to forgive. It is not an issue of who has the greater fault, what matters is who has the greater love. As Christians, we were taught by Christ how to love. He said, 'Love one another as I have loved you' John 13:34. We know that despite our sins, Jesus has forgiven us and bore our sins through His death on the cross. The healing will come when we have decided to forgive. There will be no relapse, only real love.