It’s hard to love difficult people. We know we are called to it, but there are just some people who are really, really hard to love.

So, what do we do? Try harder? Muster up love by sheer willpower?

We can try. But we will quickly find our true nature of frustration, exasperation, and resentfulness rearing its ugly head.

We need a different way. We need to start with the heart.

Asherita Ciuciu, bestselling author, speaker, and podcast host, knows something about this journey. She felt the calling to sacrificially love two people who were hard for her to love. She shares what worked and what didn’t, what was wise and what wasn’t, and why sacrificial love is at the heart of Lent.

If you want to follow Jesus' command to love others as he has loved us, this podcast is a great place to start.

Some highlights from our conversation:

• Asheritah shares her first experience with Lent and why it wasn’t helpful. And how Advent helped her learn how to practice Lent as a season of preparation.
• She shares how Jesus modeled sacrificial love by giving the benefit of the doubt to others.
• We discuss how we can’t just try harder to love people who are difficult to love, that the heart needs to be transformed. Asheritah shares how we can start the process of opening ourselves up this transforming work of Jesus.
• Asheritah shares openly about two experiences she had when trying to love well. One person had hurt her deeply, and it wound up opening the old wounds. She walks us through this process and how we can discern if we are called to love someone who has hurt us.
• She also shares about loving someone who was difficult to love just because they are different types of people and how she practically acted in love toward this person – and how it impacted their relationship.
• Asheritah also gives some great tips on how we can practice this season of lent with intentionality for ourselves, and if you have children, she gives some great tips on practicing Lent as a family.

You can connect with Asheritah at https://www.asheritah.com/

Or https://onethingalone.com/

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/asheritah/

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asheritah/

You can order Asheritah’s book here: https://onethingalone.myshopify.com/products/autographed-copy-of-uncovering-the-love-of-jesus-a-lent-devotional