People don't really warn you about life after college is over. I know it's different for everyone, and it is what you make it, but I think my experience is quite a bit more common than it's admitted to be. I went away to school. I also found out that I really loved the area I grew up in when I was away, so I decided to move back home...and move in with my parents. They're gracious enough to let me stay here without paying rent, and right now, that is all I can afford. There is one issue with living here, though. I have very few friends here. I guess I was spoiled with never moving or changing schools or whatever when I was younger. I grew up with the same people in my life from day 1 (or close to it). Going away to school--having to make new friends--was a completely new experience for me, but I rose to the occasion. I made a lot of friends my freshman year, and developed some really close relationships as the years went by. Meanwhile, I tried to stay in touch with my friends from high school, but I honestly had very little in common with many of them in the first place.
My friendship-base from home whittled down to the few that I truly felt kinship with. Unfortunately, half of them decided to move away. This left me with two close friends, and one friend with whom I see regularly for the sake of our past friendship. People tell you that it's going to be hard to maintain your friendships once school is over, but they really downplay just how difficult it is--or how awkward. Schedules, kids, whatever-you-name-it all get in the way of being able to fellowship and invest your time with others. So, having all of this free time, and no one to spend it with can get a bit depressing.
Fortunately, making new friends goes along with becoming more involved with your church (or other organizations). This was part of the reason why I wanted to become more involved. I knew that I was going to feel lonely being separated from most of my close friends. I started out investing most of my energy on one new friend, but circumstances temporarily took that friend away from me, and I was forced to seek kinship elsewhere. Two more people sprang up when I needed them, and I am thoroughly enjoying building a relationship with each of them.
We are relational people. "People need people." We weren't made to "go it alone." Mostly, in this transitional stage in my life, I've been learning not just to lean on God, but that He also desires a deep, meaningful relationship with us. We are created in His image, so perhaps there's a part of Him that needs fellowship, too. While working out my relationships with other people, I've also been working out my relationship with the Father and my Beloved. I am grateful for the people He has placed in my life, and I'm excited to see how things play out with each of them, but I'm also excited to see what our relationships will teach us about Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment