How to NOT Keep up with the Joneses

1 Peter 3:20 - "... when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah ..."

I have lived a very blessed life.

I have made friends in every place I've ever lived. For the few places I've lived longer than a few months, I've drawn people into my heart and locked them in, vowing never to let go.

The thing is, life is busy, and whenever I move, I get a whole new life. I have new responsibilities, new employment, new neighbors, I find new friends ... The more I embed myself into my new life, the harder it is to keep juggling everything that was once part of my old life.

I have friends I made in Michigan that I very deeply cherish. For various reasons, we don't talk as much as I'd like. I have friends I made in North Carolina, some of whom diligently wrote me on my mission to Jamaica. Now, I sometimes see the in passing on social media. I have friends I made on my mission, in the MTC, in Arizona, in Jamaica. I try as hard as I can to keep up with them, to see how things are going, but, all too often, my current life pulls me away.

I have school. I have work. I have friends. I write a blog. I'm writing several novels. I have issues and problems I'm trying to work through. And, worst of all, I genuinely feel guilty when I can't give someone as much time as they want from me. 

Sometimes, though, blessings do come. One of my good friends from my last area in Jamaica was in Utah recently, and we had the chance to hang out.

Even though time was short and precious, I am grateful we had that experience.

One day, when we're all in the next life, I imagine we'll have all the time in the world to hang out with the beloved friends and family we discovered while down here on this earth. And I can't wait for that opportunity.