While visiting with a friend recently, I was struck again at how important it is that we encourage one another with testimonies of God’s grace at work in our lives and the lives of people around us. As she said at one point during our conversation about biblical peacemaking, “It can, at times, be hard to believe that these peacemaking principles work in real life because it’s so rare to hear of people ACTUALLY persevering in relationship, doing the hard work of listening, discussing, confronting, repenting, confessing, and truly forgiving.” How right she is. I think this is one of the reasons why I find it particularly distasteful when someone…