It's funny, though, how time away from those you treasure makes you realize just how precious they are. I can leave the house feeling as if I was retreating from a war zone, but 5 minutes down the road I can't wait to see them again. And then there are those times where I realize that I don't appreciate my children for who they are or what they are able to do. Maybe I'm too busy to listen to them tell me about the cool things that happened to them during their day or I put off times when they want me to sit down and join them for their favorite TV show or play in the snow with them. It can be too easy to try and create your own space apart from those closest to you that you forget just how incredible it is to be close to them.
We were created for relationships, first with God and then with each other. Man was not meant to be alone: "Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement" (Genesis 2:18). Consider these words from Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm? And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.We need God and we need each other. None of us can stand or survive on his own for too long. Why do you think that one of the harshest punishments in our prison system is solitary confinement where an inmate is separated from human contact for weeks and months at a time? Who wants to go to a movie or ball game all by himself? Why do you think that texting and Facebook have become so popular? It's because no one wants to feel unwanted or unloved. We want - we need - to connect with other people.
Look around you. Your personal world is filled with people, most of whom you really don't know all that well. The relationships that you have now require lots of work in and of themselves, so the thought of reaching beyond your current number of friends can seem like an impossible task. But reach out you must. You see, when you were created it was with a purpose. Not one person on this planet is devoid of worth or importance. Will you totally mesh with everyone that you encounter? No, but who says you have to be on the same page in life with someone in order to love them? You are surrounded by people who are treasured by God and by those who love them. No longer look at those you pass as nameless faces or numbers in a hallway. Take the time to get to know them, live life with them, and love them.
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