The Great Divide
I’ve noticed something over the years.
Relationships don’t naturally drift toward closeness.
They drift toward distance.
Friendships.
Marriages.
Families.
Business partnerships.
Without tending, they slowly separate.
Not always through some dramatic moment.
Usually through neglect.
A missed conversation here.
A little resentment there.
A few assumptions left unspoken.
A little less effort than before.
And over time,
the divide grows wider.
That made me think...
Even creation itself was designed this way.
Left unchecked,
the world moves toward entropy.
From order to disorder.
A garden untended becomes overgrown.
A home ignored slowly falls apart.
And relationships are no different.
We often treat them like they’re self-sustaining.
Like love, trust, loyalty, and connection can survive indefinitely without attention.
But they can’t.
Anything alive requires tending.
A marriage without intentionality slowly becomes coexistence.
A friendship without effort becomes a memory.
A business relationship without communication becomes transactional.
Even our relationship with God can become distant when we stop leaning in.
I think one of the greatest lies we believe is:
“If something matters enough, it will take care of itself.”
It won’t.
The strongest relationships I know aren’t effortless.
They’re intentional.
Someone makes the call.
Starts the conversation.
Crosses the room.
Apologizes first.
Checks in.
Shows up.
Again and again.
Because separation is natural.
Connection is cultivated.
And maybe maturity is realizing that strong relationships are rarely found.
They’re built.
Over years.
Through effort.
Through forgiveness.
Through uncomfortable conversations.
Through choosing to keep showing up when it would be easier to drift apart.
Because connection doesn’t survive on feelings alone.
It survives on tending.
What relationship in your life needs tending right now?
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