Absence makes the heart grow fonder.....

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”; I don’t agree with that statement.  I understand that this is my opinion but since this is my blog I get to share my feelings.  I have an amazing wife who works for a great company.  Unfortunately, every year during this time she leaves me to go to work conferences that last for about three weeks.  During those three weeks I get to see her two times when she comes home for a late afternoon and evening to relax.  Maybe it’s because I’m wired differently, but I love being with my wife.  Even if we’re not talking or doing anything it brings comfort to know that she is in the next room or on the couch nearby.  I enjoy just watching her and bugging her endlessly about stuff that she could not care less about.  When Tami is not around I feel an emptiness that I don’t like, and it seems like the longer we are married the harder it gets.  I understand that many of you have jobs where you have to travel and you are used to a lifestyle like that, but I’m thankful that we have never really had to experience that type of life.  And what little I have experienced hasn’t made me love her any more, but I know that our love has grown because of the bond we have as best friends. 

I wonder how often people react to their journey with Christ in the same way—“Absence makes the heart grow fonder”?  I don’t believe it would ever be intentional, but we live in a time when so many things are pulling at our lives that it’s easy to say that we’ll catch church next week.  I’ll read my Bible and pray tomorrow or I’ll deal with that spiritual struggle next week.  We don’t love God any less, we just have fallen into the trap of thinking, “I won’t be effected by a few days away, in fact, it may even cause me to miss church or Christ more.”  Let me encourage you, we all have faced this struggle, but the thing you must determine is that nothing is going to separate you from your church family and your daily journey with Christ.  You never know what tomorrow holds, so do all you can do today to make sure you’re ready for tomorrow.