Last week, my friend came to visit us from the Midwest. I have not seen her in a year and finally seeing her again after a long time brought back memories of the fun times that we had. The benefit of having long distance friends is that we can always look forward to visiting each other again and we can talk just like old times.

As soon as she came to the door of Campus Ministry, I was there to greet her and hug her. It feels good because hugs are known for decreasing stress levels and increasing endorphins. The truth is, our group of friends and I miss her so much, there is no doubt that she would be spoiled once we saw her. Her visit taught me about the virtue of patience and the ability to know that despite our distance, we keep in touch in ways that we can.

On May 16th, we saw her and embraced her. The embrace is an act of sisterly love and the friendship feels whole again. Life is fleeting by in waves and it is always a reassurance to know that some friendships are meant to persevere, and when we connect with others, life isn’t so scary as it seems. Long distance is not easy and there are times when we may feel overwhelmed with work, school, relationships, and personal matters. However, the connections we make with people is a gift. As social beings, we exist to love and to care for one another.

Think about those friends who walked into our lives at one point or another. They are either a lesson or blessing. As decision-makers, we get to pick and choose. Some friends may stay longer in our lives while others may appear to teach us a lesson about ourselves.

Think of long-distance friends as an extended version of yourself that you discover. You want to be the best versions of yourself and so hanging out with friends with the same values will lift you up in ways that you never thought possible Long distance friends are a joy and when you have one or more of those people, it is the virtue of patience that makes you strong. Long distance friendships are life’s ways of strengthening your values and helping you discover parts of yourselves that is crucial to the essence of your existence.

As a reminder, every time we struggle, we should always persevere by connecting with others. Check out my TEDx talk about perseverance and connections here.