Being in a relationship is great, until it isn't. Dates and holding hands are great, until they don't happen anymore. Relationships are easy, until they aren't.
Relationships can be easy and effortless for a while, but real life makes them hard. It's like working really hard on your science project poster and you're so proud of your accomplishment. Sadly, you have to take it to school...and it's raining, and by the time you get to class, the edges are coming unglued and it's just a mess. It's truly upsetting.
That's just normal relationships. But then there's another type: Long Distance Relationships.
Some relationships start out this way, and I don't understand how people do it. I personally prefer to meet someone at a coffee shop than over Starbucks wifi. But sometimes normal, happy relationships become long distance relationships. It usually happens in the horrible transition into the real world, where people grow up and move on with their lives and jobs, but this often puts an extreme strain on everything. In between your college classes you try to FaceTime or shoot a text before work.
No matter what you do, it's never quite the real thing. You can't rub his shoulders after a stressful day, you could possibly not even hear about it if he's too tired to call.
We all get caught up in the craziness of our schedule, it happens to even the best of us. But I think it is when we take moments to stop and smell the flowers that life truly occurs.
Life isn't all about getting the best job, or the perfect grades, and it's taken me 19 years to truly understand that. I think that today's society traps us in the idea that we have to be busy all the time to be successful.
I believe that this lie is what drags us away from the things that are truly important.
How is it that a something as simple as a to-do list, or a game on your phone can get in the way of giving someone we love our full attention?
How can we get excited that there is an Xbox achievement for binge watching a show on Netflix, but not find time in our day to read a Bible verse?
We can make a Pinterest board with plenty of workout schedules and gluten free recipes, but never try any of them?
We can compliment others, but still not love ourselves?
Or maybe we're so proud of our accomplishments that we did all by ourselves that we never go humbly before our Father to give God the glory He deserves?
These questions are just a few that have been hitting me hard.
How has the world we live in managed to brainwash us so?
We are supposed to be not of this world.
"Do not copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." - Romans 12:2 NLT
While this is a verse I'm sure we're all heard before, sometimes reading something multiple times is necessary to get it into our heads. If we could find the time in our busy little schedules to let Him give us some advice, I think it'd do us all some good. But we have to open to hear it, too.
Whenever life seems to be going to plan, we're meeting our goals, and our bank account is starting to look nice, we don't want anyone to get in our way. We get so proud of being an unstoppable force, but to God we just look like a silly whirlwind.
We try so hard to get comfortable here, when we should be storing up treasures in heaven. Spending time with the ones we love. Doing anything we can to be a blessing to others.
But instead we watch Netflix, or we send out a text message when dinner is ready. We get upset when people drive too slow, because we have places to go and people to not connect with.
So in this world of disconnect, when it's hard enough to be real and present with the people in the same room as you, you can image how hard it could be to across the country from a loved one.
Different time zones and different lives. He's happily serving his country, you're working and going to college. You're trying to slow down and he's speeding up. Both of us are living such great, productive lives, but at the end of the day, we're fraying at the seams.
I love him and he loves me, but we have our own lives to live. We're great together, but the distance threw a wrench into our relationship, and I’m not always good with tools. I never thought we'd end up here, but here we are, miles apart and lives apart. I don't know where life will take us, but I know it'll be an a crazy ride. I just know that for this part of the journey, I think it's best I walk it with God being the only one by my side. ♥︎
