Life on Repeat

I have learned that when God wants you to 'get' something, He often places an episode in your life, over and over again. It's really annoying. Often the faces, places and other details change, but the lesson is always the same...He does this to test us, develop us and to weed out those parts of ourselves that keep us from attaining the greatness He has called us to.
For me, God is constantly trying to teach me not to define myself through the eyes of people. He does this by putting people in my path who don't like me. Really. It's that simple. This may not sound like a big deal to most people, but to me, it's earth shattering. I have so many incredible friends, a close knit family, a husband who loves me more than I deserve and a beautiful son with another child on the way, but if I know of one person who doesn't like me, they have so much power over me! It's all I focus on, all I think about. I try and figure out ways that I can change their mind, desperate for them to see that I'm a good person. Even if it's a situation where an individual is being totally irrational and has no good reason for disliking me, I want to work diligently to change their mind. I am this way because I lose my focus on the one who defines me: Christ alone.
No one knows the creation like the Creator. He has made us in his image, yet uniquely different from the 6 billion other people who walk the earth. With so many personalities, theirs bound to be some conflict. The bible says, "Blessed are you when people insult you..." Matthew 5:11. The truth is, being disliked draws us closer to Christ...he was disliked by a lot of people...knowing the sting of rejection helps us to understand the footsteps of Jesus.
Now, I'm not for one moment saying that anyone who doesn't like me is unjustified and unholy...after all, we are not called to 'like' everyone, we are called to love them according to the definition God has given us in his word. People have a right not to like me. Maybe I have a stupid laugh that annoys someone, or maybe I stand on the opposite side of their politics, or maybe they think my face is weird. There are a plethora of reasons why people dislike other people and the truth is, if someone doesn't like me, they have every right to feel that way...Lord knows there are some individuals I've met throughout my life that were difficult to be around...perhaps I am that person to someone else?
I just hope that if someone doesn't enjoy me, it isn't because I wronged them.
The point is, whether someone is justified with their distaste for me or not, I can not allow it to define who I am. If I have wronged them, I must ask forgiveness and live out Romans 12:18, "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." If they still shutter at the sight of me or want nothing to do with me, I have to learn to live in peace, knowing that who I am in their eyes is not who I am in the eyes of the Father.
Easier said than done...but I'm hoping I learn how to do this soon...I don't want this lesson to keep repeating itself.