Stay Close or Stray Apart

Back on a warm September morning my wife and I drove to the Jersey shore as we're prone to do. We often take these day trips to escape the trappings of habitual living. It's also proven to be a healthy endeavor for a marriage that's in the early stage of its third decade.

As we walked the boards late that afternoon I spotted a young couple on the beach who were strangely awkward about their appearance. On this picture perfect day, this was not a picture perfect couple, and this was not a picture perfect moment in their relationship.

I've found personally that too much space, be it time or distance, isn't beneficial for a relationship. One has to work at keeping a balance between the things that drive us apart.

So when my eyes came upon this scene it was obvious that all was not well. There was an uncomfortable amount of landscape between these two.

You could feel the tension cutting right through the ocean breeze. The only cloud in the sky was hovering directly over them. It was unsettling to watch.

There was nothing I could say or do for them, but there was something I could do for myself. I don't want any of my relationships to look like that, feel like that, or become that.

So ever since then, whenever I see this picture it reminds me to check in... cause all too often it's so easy to check out... to stay close, or stray apart.

I think tomorrow morning might be a good time to make that early meeting with my maker, and to take that late afternoon quiet moment with my wife... then there's tomorrow night...

Pray on,
Eddy