Howdy, Lobsters. We're back again with a follow up guest post from my dear long distance friend, Libby. For her first post, click here. These are such great, practical tips. I hope you'll contribute some of your own as well!
Hello! Libby here again. So great to be back on Long Distance Lobsters to chat with you. We’re back with the second half of a mini-series about long distance friendships! Last time I posed some questions about why we form certain long distance friendships and why these are important. Good theoretical questions, but I am ALL about the practical, so today I want us to look at some tips for growing those friendships across the miles—and I’d love to hear your ideas, too!
One of the best things I’ve found to do is to keep a list of key things that are going on in my friends’ lives. Can anyone relate to the scatterbrained feeling? I might get off the phone from a great conversation only to jump into something around the house and realize the next day that I’ve forgotten just what it was that my friend was sharing. I absolutely cringe if that happens because it means I can’t follow up very well the next time we chat and it means I can’t pray too effectively for them either. I’ve found that jotting a few key things down after that phone call can really help to keep those details in the forefront of my mind. I know it always feels great to hear from a friend a month later and realize that they remember exactly what we had talked about before.
Another great thing that can help others feel connected to you is to start a blog like this one! Your personality, interests, joys, and concerns can all come through so well on a blog. It is not nearly as relational as a phone call, email, or visit, but it does a great job of filling in the gaps and helping people far away know the ups and downs in your life. One of my favorite things to do in my spare time is to flip through my friends’ blogs who I no longer live near and get to see life through their eyes again.
I have a few people that I love to email back and forth with as well. I have heard recently that many people think that email is becoming obsolete. No way! I love a good email! I hope it sticks around, because I have way more to say most days than I can fit into a tiny text message or facebook comment. Email is a great way to really share some deeper things with good friends, to get into the details, and also to keep a written memory of shared thoughts and questions you’ve had. Now that I have a busy 15 month old who sleeps less than most kiddos her age, phone calls are hard to come by. It is easier many times to write a long email bit by bit as I have time than to block off that prized hour of phone time I really want with a friend. And it gives my friend flexibility on the reply end as well.
Pictures, pictures, pictures! I am terrible about staying on top of this one, but when I see updated pictures of where friends have traveled, a new haircut, what their kids look like now, it helps me to feel like I am passing time with them somehow and not always seeing them in the past. So take those pictures and get them uploaded in a place where friends can see them! For some that is on Facebook, others it is through programs like Flicker, Shutterfly, or Picassa. Find out what is easiest for you to use and go at it!
Finally, I think that praying for our friends we miss is a great way to stay connected as well. I am so thankful for the reality that those of us who are saved by grace through faith are looking forward to an eternity in Heaven with our brothers and sisters in Christ. For Christian friends, there is never a goodbye. It is always an “I’ll see you later.” And praying for each other helps us to continue that relationship on earth that we will have in Heaven one day, all pointed toward the Lord together. For friends we love who don’t call Jesus their Savior and Lord, it can be our heart’s desire to pray for opportunities for them to encounter the Lord and come to faith. It can also be a platform that spurs us on to continue remaining active in their lives even when we see sinful choices being made.
Those are my top ways to continue friendships with my loved ones far away. How about you? Anything I missed that has helped you??
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