The other day while on Facebook, a dear friend of mine posed the question, "Can long distance relationships work out?" A simple enough question. But quite a debate ensued. And I found myself getting really annoyed at some of the negative things people had to say. Probably because Mark and I had a long distance relationship and obviously it worked out. But as I thought more about it, I came to a conclusion. And this conclusion comes from a story I have to tell. Yeah, you better pull up a chair. :)
Once upon a time... in the early 1940's there was a tall, handsome young man named Paul. Who decided to go to school at a place called Snow College. While he was there he met a cute, not so tall girl named Joyce. In fact, one of his friends asked him once, what he thought about Joyce? And he replied, "She's pretty, but you'll never see me going with a girl who is that short." (Ah, famous last words) They became good friends but these were tumultuous times and before long Paul was called away to help fight World War II. They began writing letters and I guess you could say they had a long distance relationship... for five years! But it was during this time that I believe they fell deeply in love with each other. When Paul finally returned home they were married. Before long they had their first child, a son. The birth was very difficult and Joyce had lost a great deal of blood. The doctor was very concerned that she might not make it. What complicated things was Joyce had a very rare type of blood, O-negative. The doctor explained this to her husband, Paul and said that they were doing what they could to find her the right type of blood so that they could give her a transfusion. Well, Paul knew that his blood type was also O-negative and so he told the doctor that he could give his wife the blood she so desperately needed. The doctor was rather skeptical but agreed to test Paul's blood to see if they where a match. To his surprise, they were! Later when Joyce was getting ready to leave the hospital the Doctor came in to talk with the new parents. He said, shaking his head, "I don't know how you two ever found each other and got together, but it's amazing." And Paul said, with a big grin, "Well, it wasn't easy. It took five years and a war!" They lived happily, quietly serving each other for over 50 years. Not too long after their 50th wedding anniversary, Joyce developed Alzheimer's. It got to the point where she didn't remember Paul, or anything about their life together. But he was right there with her anyway, tenderly taking care of her needs until it became too much for him and he was counseled to put her in a home. A big part of him died that day, and he was never quite the same. He visited her every day, every chance he got. After many years, Joyce's health continued to deteriorate and it became apparent that she wouldn't live much longer. I don't know how she did it, but she found a way to appear to Paul in a dream. A couple of days before she passed away, his beloved Joyce came to him and told him that she loved him dearly but that she had to leave him for now, and not to worry. This brought him a great deal of comfort and he was able to say good-bye. I think he missed her terribly, and just a short year later he too, returned home and back into the arms of his dear, sweet Joyce.
Now if you ask me, that's a love story. And it helped me reach my conclusion... Do long distance relationships work out? And you know what? A relationship "working out" has absolutely nothing to do with the circumstances that surround it. It can be long distance, or the boy/girl next door. One of you can be away at college, or away at war. You can work for the same company, or together in the same office. It doesn't really matter. What matters is the TWO PEOPLE in the relationship. Are they Unselfish, Forgiving, Respectful, wanting the happiness of the other person more than their own? When things get tough, and let's face it, they do. Do they turn to their Father in Heaven? Because if the answer is Yes, then you can bet your bottom dollar, that relationship is not only going to "work out" but when it's their turn to leave this earth. They will have a love story of their own to tell, that's probably not too different from my Grandparents. :)
