Long Distance Dating

Here is an idea for people who are dating.  My mom and my dad were dating in the early 70s.  They lived in Indiana.  Then my mom went to teach in Florida.  They dated long distance by writing letters.  Would the relationship last until my mom got back?  My wife and I were dating in the late 90s.  I went to Kenya for four months.  We wrote letters to each other and called a few times (the phones in Kenya were not incredibly reliable at the time).  There was even this thing called email that we did every now and then (There was no Skype then).  Would the relationship last for that four months?  Those relationships proved their worth, and that is one of the advantages to long distance dating.  Can your relationship survive the long distance?  “Oceans apart day after day, and I slowly go insane, I hear your voice on the line, but it doesn’t stop the pain, if I see you next to never, how can we say forever, wherever you go, whatever you do I will be right here waiting for you, whatever it takes or if my heart breaks I will be right here waiting for you. . .”  Here are some advantages to long distance dating: 

1.       It is very hard to cross lines sexually that Christ demands that you not cross if you are not with each other.

2.       You find out if there is anything to the relationship besides the physical element.

3.       You can write letters to each other that you may keep for decades and you will show to your kids.

4.       You will have time to think about the relationship.

5.       The relationship goes through a test, and that test will either kill the relationship or prove it and make it stronger.

But how do we long distance date?  Here are a few ideas for long distance dating, if this is something you are thinking of doing.

1.       Go on a semester abroad – many schools have the option of going to another country for schooling at a low cost.

2.       Hike the Appalachian Trail.

3.       Go on a long bicycle trip, such as coast to coast.

4.       Go on a short term missions trip.

5.       Do an internship somewhere else in the world.

How do we survive long distance dating?

1.       Write letters to each other.

2.       Spend lots of time praying.

3.       Set a time to pray for each other every day (my wife and I would pray for each other every day at the same time – noon in Indiana and 8pm in Kenya).

4.       Read books on marriage.

5.       Evaluate the relationship – Who am I?  Who is (s)he?  Is (s)he someone I want to spend the rest of my life with?