It can be difficult to find the balance of keeping up with remote relationships and investing in the people you are with.

Most swing the pendulum one way or the other. Maybe you are constantly on your phone, texting and on social media, keeping tabs on your friends. Spending most nights in the house touching base with family and friends over the phone. You form strong bonds with these people that surpass location, distance, and life circumstances. You are incredibly faithful to the friendships you have formed.

Maybe you’re anti social media and never text or call anyone unless they reach out to you first. You are very intentional about the relationships you build in person and being fully present where you are is something you take very seriously.

Maybe you’re a combination of these or only some of the bad and none of the good.

Recently, I’ve been trying to find the balance of this is. Where the sweet spot is.

I’ve always leaned more toward the latter example – I’m terrible at keeping up with anyone I’m not currently around, even family. It doesn’t mean I care less about people, but my mind is so much more focused on the people I can invest in that I actually am seeing on a regular basis.

I’ve always wanted both, though. I care so deeply about the friendships that I form, but I could never fully invest both in people remotely and people locally. Anytime I tried to switch to one, the other suffered. When I tried to be more intentional about calling people that were not local to me, I was almost always foregoing participation in building local friendships.

I’ve started to find a healthier balance. One that still leans toward the latter, but with more intentional communication with people I’m not around.

I have a ways to go before I’ll be happy with how I’m interacting with friends locally or far away. Every day is a learning process. The biggest thing that’s helping me right now, is simply being intentional about whatever I’m doing. If I dedicate time to grow in the new friendships, I need to hold to that and not fall back into talking with others. Same the other way around.

Hunting and farming are both great, just know when you’re doing them and plan intentionally.