worth fighting for

I had to right a wrong today on my part, so I called someone and asked a very pertinent question: “Do you still care for so and so?

"Yes.”

Then I asked a follow-up question: “And does so and so still care for you?”

"Yes.”

Then I stopped asking questions and said this: “Then I suggest you fight to keep the relationship going—it’s too valuable to give up on it.”

Why did I do that? Because my previous advice had danced around the topic of whether there were still any feelings for the other person. As a result, the dissolution of their relationship (not a marriage) seemed to be a foregone conclusion and we focused primarily on how to move on.

Today, however, I’ve done a 180. Relationships are too valuable to give up on them. If we care about someone else—I mean, really care—then we have to keep trying to maintain it.

We have to.

Am I naïve? Maybe. But life’s too short to just walk away from someone you care about without giving the thing one last try.

Are there problems and challenges in the situation above? Yes. Are they insurmountable? Maybe. But I believe they need to keep trying, at least one more time. So I made the call and cleared my conscience.

In fact, I feel so strongly about this I truly wish we were in the same room right now so you could see and hear the urgency in my face and voice. As it is, I’ll have to shout it from the rooftops.

Do you care for someone? Really care for someone? Then why in the world would you want to give that up? Why in the world would you not do everything in your power to keep it going?

Will your efforts succeed? Maybe. Maybe not. But at least you tried. At least you tried to salvage one of life’s most precious gifts: A special bond between two people.

Trust me, that kind of bond doesn’t come along very often. At least it doesn't for me.

So, how does all of this apply to you? Frankly, there may be no application for you whatsoever. But hey, I just couldn’t wait to share this new insight with someone, one that's changed how I look at things.

That said, I’ll let you get back to whatever you were doing before I got on my soapbox. Besides, I’ve got some more phone calls to make—have to ask some people a few questions…

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”1

1  1 Corinthians 13:4