This post has been tugging at my heart a lot lately.
Intention. Being intentional. It's a word that I throw around quite often- purposefully. deliberately. intentionally. What does that mean? What does that look like?
There have been a lot of changes in my life lately. As I move on, as my friends move on, often it's difficult to stay in touch. Lives are changing all around me, and as much as we wish we could keep in contact, it becomes difficult to do so. It's not because we don't want to. It's just because we don't have the time. Or so I say. Or so they say. Time gets away. You lose touch. That's life.
But what if you're being intentional? What if you're the only that's trying to keep a friendship alive. After years, or after even after just months. How long do you wait and hold out until you simply stop trying? How long do you hold out for a friendship (or relationship) that doesn't mean enough to the other person to fight to have you in their life? What do you do with those feelings when you come to the realization? It's hard..when you come to the realization that maybe it doesn't matter that you're not in someone else's life? Someone you cared so much about..that it just doesn't matter. How long do you wait? How often do you call or text? At one point do you stop caring the way they stopped caring?
OR .. what if it's just life? What if this is just one friendship/relationship that wasn't meant to stick around? I think that God sticks people in at certain points in your life (kinda like the Hunger Games). There are triggers that put people right here and now for you to meet and learn something from. Once that lesson is learned, there's a new a lesson, a new person to meet. How do you determine the people that are only in your life a short time vs. the people who will stick with you forever?
In Admissions, Tiffany and I talk a lot about different prospective students. "We've never heard from this person. It's been six months..When do we stop bugging them?" It's a constant question that we struggle with. How often do we put forth the effort for a phone call or a personal e-mail..only to not hear anything back? How often are we to be intentional with these students? They stopped caring ages ago (if they ever cared at all). When should we?
Friends, I am not only the victim, but am so often the victor (is that the right word?). There are people that I care for deeply that I need to be more intentional with. Particularly with friends who live far away. I left a lot of loved ones when I moved to Richmond- people that I still care about, people whose friendship I genuinely value.
Live your life. Live it with purpose. Life it with intention.
I'm grateful for the people in my life. Everyone who has ever taught me something or helped me experience something new. As I struggle to figure out how to live intentionally and to be intentional with my friendships and relationships, I encourage you to do the same. When have you been the victim of an (un)intentional relationship? (Remind me to tell you the theme to camp last year..) When have you been the one who has dropped the relationship? Was it life? Was it because you didn't have the time? Was it because this is someone you simply didn't want in your life anymore?
Where do we go from here?
