Five Minute Friday - Absence

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One word. Five minutes to write about it. This is the idea behind Five Minute Friday and this is today's free-writing post.

unexcused absence

absence makes the heart grow fonder

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 I had thought I would skip Five Minute Friday this past week. We had family here for the long weekend so my Friday was full with work and spending time with them. But this morning as I was searching for something else, I came across this quote and thought perhaps I could write about absence for a couple of minutes after all. 

Rather like that old saying about absence making the heart grow fonder. And who knows, perhaps this is where that saying began. We all know of cases where a couple started dating but lived far apart for a time and the relationship fizzled. But we probably also know of cases where a couple who were physically separated by distance yet their emotional bond strengthened. Of course there are many reasons for the different outcomes, but at the heart of it is the truth that any real love―whether romantic, family, or friendship―isn't defeated only by being apart.

Over the many years since I moved away from my family, I've compared the situation I was in to that of the first colonists to come to the New World from Europe, or the pioneers that ventured out to settle the American West. They often said goodbye to parents, extended family, and friends, never knowing if they would see each other again and with no practical way of communicating. Those must have been heart-wrenching goodbyes, yet surely those loved ones were still very dear, even in absence. We said goodbyes to family and friends and moved away, but we had reliable mail and phone service to help us stay in touch. And in our more recent move, we can not only instant message or call our loved ones, but we can see them in a video call and we don't even have to concern ourselves with the long-distance rates! We are absent in many ways from daily life and interactions, but the family ties are still strong. And the bonds of love are strong, whether or not we see each other in person regularly or at all.

For I may be absent in body, but I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see how well ordered you are and the strength of your faith in Christ.

~Colossians 2:5~

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This post is linked at Five Minute Friday for the word prompt "Absence".

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