you belong with me

Or do you?

Have you ever been in love? (And by that, I mean, have you ever been in infatuation?)
Have you ever met a group of people you just clicked with at camp, and all of y'all became super duper best friends forever?
Have you ever made vows with your elementary, middle, high school, college friends to never forget each other, never lose touch, never keep things from each other, never leave behind all those crazy fun times you had together?

And then:

Have you ever fallen out of love/infatuation?
Have you ever said your farewells at the end of the 3, 6, 9 week session, met up/emailed/called a few times afterwards, and then lost touch virtually forever?
Have you ever just gotten so busy with your life at hand that you weren't able to keep your promise to always stay in touch?

What happens during that time? The lull after you let go? The void where new experiences, feelings, people come into your life?

People change. And just like in my previous entry, there's a time for everything...and I guess, everyone.

I had a friend tell me recently: "Sometimes there might be periods/seasons when we're close to someone, then we drift away. Or God places certain friends together for specific times, and then allows them to drift, which is fine too."

And you know, now is not the time to get disillusioned with people - although it's hard to not become that way - but the more I realize the intricacies of people relationships and how really, it's not in our hands, the more I become aware of how my relationship with God should be.

God is not someone who I can put up in a scrapbook of pictures and notes, not someone I can friend on Facebook after six or so years (although...apparently you can become a "fan" of Him...to which I say, wow.), not someone I can write bitter notes about how we've drifted apart. Because He's constant. He's yesterday, today, tomorrow - and not only that, His love for me has never faltered. It's actually my fault whenever our relationship takes a dip. And as tiring as that might sound - always being the one with fault - it's actually easier than maintaining a relationship with another person. As long as you hold up your end of the deal, He'll always be there...whereas with other people, if you drop the line, there's definitely no guarantee that the person will remain holding onto the other end of the styrofoam cup-telephone line.

Of course, there's that saying (which was popularized in Christina Aguilera's song, "What A Girl Wants", oh the '90s) - "They say if you love something let it go/If it comes back it's yours/That's how you know/It's for keeps, yeah, it's for sure" - which means, if that person is actually meant to run the race with you long-term, even if you do drop your end and they leave, they'll come back - in which case, sure, have faith in people by all means.

But I think that's also true of our relationship with God - ultimately, God knows we'll be back if we've already accepted Him and tasted His goodness once. So even when we fall short, even when we fail, even when we leave, He'll always be there to welcome us back with open arms. Because you know what happens in that lull and that void? BAD things. LOL jk. Well, not necessarily "bad" things, but definitely things where we feel the absence...oftentimes by simply feeling an emptiness. And God knows this. And He wants you back, but He's willing to wait for you.

So. Don't make Him wait any longer. Think of Him singing, "If you could see that I'm the one who understands you, been here all along, so why can't you see? You belong with me." Kind of a funny picture, I'll admit. But yeah.

You belong with Him.