Miss Independence? No thanks.

I would never come out and say that I want to go through life on my own.  I’m not trying to be Miss-I-Don’t-Need-Anyone-I-Can-Do-It-By-Myself.  But still, this sneaking sense of independence latches on to me as I run around campus, engrossed in my own busy-ness, my own agenda.  I can go for a few days without reeeeally sharing anything real about myself or genuinely listening to others share their life with me. And then I wonder why I’m down and lonely and feeling like I’m missing something.

This is the point: we need each other.  And not just in a cute way, where, yeah, it would be nice to chit chat at Starbucks, but I’d be okay if you canceled so I can watch my show on Netflix.  Encouraging each other through the week by listening and sharing isn’t just a little embellishment we add to make our lives look nice and sociable.  No, it’s the very stuff of our lives that lets us know that we are not alone, that someone’s walking next to us on this winding path of life.

So what does this look like—being there for each other?  It could be anything: a quick text, out of the blue—or consistently, every week.

Or have a 2 minute conversation with someone you normally walk pass in the name of busy-ness.  Send an email.  Make a phone call. 

Pick up something at the store for a friend because you know they would love it, and because you think of them every time you walk past it at Meijer.

If you’re in college, get up and knock on someone’s door and say “Wanna go to dinner?”  Because when you live within two feet of 50 girls, it’s just silly to have every meal by yourself.   That’s my little plug for dorm-living.

But anyways, these are all little ways saying “Hey, I’m here for you.  I wanna do life with you.”

Because we need this kind of weekly, even daily encouragement to just get through.  We need each other.