The Game of Life

Last night, I played Life at church with the teenagers who have only merely begun to see what life is all about. It was funny to see them get excited about having the doctor as an occupation and getting $25,000 for every payday. It was funny seeing them all have to get married and then when they had little pink and blue pegs as kids in the backseat. Wesley had twins and he automatically wanted to put them up for adoption. Sometimes if only life were as easy as the game.

You would think that the game would cause me to think of the different things that are going on in my life or anyone's life in general, but it wasn't quite that way. About a month ago, I couldn't stop thinking about a high school friend with whom I haven't seen for 4 years. In fact, graduation day was probably the last day I saw her. But I kept thinking about her and didn't know why. So I emailed her and we used to be so close but we hadn't talked in so long that she thought something was wrong when I emailed.

Another friend called me out of the blue Saturday. I hadn't talked to her in years either. We were never as close as Friend #1 and I but we were close enough that we could talk about anything. She was/is just going through a really tough time right now.

But the interactions with these 2 friends have made me realize that people don't keep in touch with people unless its convenient. Life happens. Engagements, marriages, babies, relationships end, people move away, jobs, grad school. Life happens. People get busy.

Is that really an excuse? I have been friends with these people for years and could not tell you what is going on in their life other than what I have just recently found out. That's not what I would consider a friend. There are so many ways of communicating with people you care about nowadays and we do not take the time out of our 'busy schedule' to write a quick email or make a quick phone call.

Friendships are intentional relationships. You have to be intentional in the interaction you have with the other person so they know you care about them. I struggle with that sometimes.

Back to the game and not real life, it will be interesting to see how the teens really act when they see what life throws at them.