distance.

"The rain came down,

the streams rose,

the winds blew,

& beat against the house,

yet it did not fall,

because it had it's foundation on a rock."

Matthew 7:25

The basis of building something of value is making sure that it has a stable, solid foundation.

Having a weak foundation means that you have nothing of substance to fall back on. Building too much, too high, too quickly on a foundation that has yet to be tested over time could very well lead to an inevitable downfall in the future. Why? Because it is probably rooted in superficiality -- based off of loose opinions, fickle feelings & ever-changing emotions. No stability, no true cohesion. distance takes away some of the many external factors that are easy become distracted by and caught-up in. distance causes attention to diverge from the trivial to the meaningful. distance forces appreciation -- it highlights the significance of little things (which usually may be overlooked) which are slowly building into the most important things. distance forces introspection -- urging one to decide what truly matters at the end of the day. distance makes the happy moments happier, unpleasant moments more unpleasant -- forcing one to evaluate & put emotions into a genuine perspective without the external factors clouding their judgment. I don't like distance. I wouldn't wish for the distance to last any minute longer than it must. But as time progresses, I've realized that distance is the teacher, I am the student. distance is teaching me patience. distance is teaching me how to be appreciative. distance continually reassures me of my favorite cliché: Everything happens for a reason. distance makes me excited. Anxious. Makes me nervous at times. The distance sometimes makes me feel as though things are so out of my hands. But the distance also teaches me to relax because honestly, if it's God's hands are in it then why does it need to be "in" my own? I guess that's the beauty of it all. I hate the distance between us, but at the end of the day, I can appreciate it.

♥♥♥