“Are you ready? That’s a loaded question, right? Honesty, I thought I was but it’s turning out to be harder than I thought and revealing more than I wanted to know. But, God is calling and if you landed here then God is calling you too. It’s tough! It’s painful! I’m a southern girl so in southern girl language this is “gut wrenching.” I have wanted and have on occasion shut down, cried, questioned, and wondered if I wanted to just stop here. So I will interject here the saying that I have heard and said for years, “I would if I could but I can’t.” To stop now would leave me stuck and it will leave you stuck too. If I choose to stay here, stuck, then I will never participate in what lies beyond this point. I have decided if there is more to have, then I want more. How about you?
Our first stop is acquaintances. Not a problem here. We probably have a countless number of these. Sometimes we know their name or recognize their face. Conversations are casual and generally non-threatening. Very little required of us or our resources. There is no attachment at any level here. We may have a lot of these on FB, IG. Maybe we interact with them during acts of service. They don’t have a lot of impact on our life and we have little to no impact on theirs.
This is entry level. Often, it starts and ends right here. Ask yourself, is this all I want? Is this what God had in mind when He said, “It is not good for man to be alone?” or did He intend it to go deeper than this? If you stopped here, would it be enough? Is this all you are willing to give and is it all you are willing to receive?
If you made it past the acquaintance stage you may find yourself with some casual friends. At this stage you actually know each others name and meet up occassionally. It is comfortable and requires a low level of obligation. A little attachment is taking place at this level. You notice if they don’t show up and wonder where they are. You may or may not shoot them a text from time to time. You may even pray for them if there is a need that you are aware of. This level is just as the name implies, casual. Casual as in relaxed, not very concerning or consuming, irregular. It’s low level impact for both of you. Again, you may have a lot of casual friends. In fact, very few will ever rise above this level.
Is it enough? Did God intend for there to be more? Are you like me, realizing that most of what you have is acquaintances and casual friends? Are you like me realizing it isn’t enough? Maybe like me you are realizing what you thought you had isn’t what you have at all? That puts a definition to “gut wrenching.”
You can stop right here. You don’t have to read anything else or think about any of this. In fact, if you are not willing to change, not willing to make some sacrifice, not willing to communicate, not willing to give any time, only need and not give, this really is the end of the line for you. That’s tough language isn’t it. It’s part of the tough conclusions that God is teaching me that I am sharing with you. God never meant us to go beyond this point with everybody, but He definitely intended us to go beyond with somebody. You have an enemy that would have you believe this is it. He would have you stay
loosely connected and uncommitted.
Why? Because it’s powerless. Feeling powerless? This might be your clue.
Are you ready to
R e S e t
It gets tougher, so if you aren’t ready, you can’t handle what comes next.
Give it some prayerful thought
That’s a real gut check for sure. Praying through this one. Thank you Linda for your transparency and for asking us the hard questions!
Thank you For your comment Lisa. It is sad that we are settling for less than what God intended in our relationships. I am guilty of being besties with busy.