The beauty in long-distance friendships
By: Missionary Team
I have one very best friend. I have other friends, but I have just one who I can go to for anything and everything. She has been with me through it all; from my boy problems to when we just sat in silence because we don’t need words to enjoy each other’s company. We have had our ups and downs, but our friendship has never ended or stopped. The hardest part about our friendship was when we went from seeing each other every day to not seeing each other for eight months.
She went off to serve at a summer camp, and I went off to serve as a missionary. It was one of the hardest things for the both of us to endure, but it ended being the most fruitful. It was so difficult to say goodbye to such a faithful friend, but our friendship never ceased during that time; it only grew stronger.
Being away from someone for that long was hard because we didn’t have that connection of being in each other’s presence. Because of the lack of physical company, we only had the ability to use our phones for contact. One of the most bonding moments for us was having the ability to go on adventures, even if it was just to the grocery store. Adulting is not easy. As we got older, we started to have our own responsibilities to take care of: jobs, college, etc.
Finding time to sit down and talk with each other over the phone began to become more of a task, rather than fun. However, our conversations became more than the casual catch-up. We started really getting in-depth of what our friendship was and how we sustained it. We focused on the spiritual aspects that we both experienced during our separate faith journeys and strived to care for one another as Christ calls us to love. Distance threw some hurdles at us, but we never stumbled.
Authenticity and vulnerability: the new core of our friendship. I’ve realized that distance and limited time cannot be excuses to push back relationships. We are blessed to have the technology to at least hear people’s voices, even if they are far away.
The goal of our society today is to focus on ourselves and what we need instead of reaching out to others. If we cannot be real with the ones that we care for, then will we ever know who they truly are? We have the gift of encouragement, and we can encourage them from afar.
Being far away from such a close friend can hurt though. Sometimes you don’t
realize how much you love and care for someone until you can’t see them. You see how
much they mean to you, and you miss them simply for who they are. Their
companionship is what you long for.
Their faithfulness and loyalty is so much more evident. Their kindness is what you see is going to impact all the souls that they are going to encounter on their journey of life. Even if our time together is different at times, you have faith in them. Pray for them. Offer what you can for them. Talk to them when you can. Tell them what they mean to you. “Faithful friends are a sturdy shelter; whoever finds one finds a treasure.” (Sirach 6:14).
