"I'm so glad we're FRIENDS." "I appreciate your FRIENDship." "Hey, buddy, pal, FRIEND." These are all great words to hear as long as you feel the same way. But I think we've all experienced how it feels when you like someone as more than just a friend, but it's not reciprocated. And it's during these times that the "friend zone" is not a fun place to be in. You can't turn off your feelings, yet you don't want to lose the friendship, so you put your feelings on the back burner and life goes on, sometimes at a seemingly slower pace. Because your hopes and expectations of the relationship look differently than the other person. This is something I've noticed that I've done with the Lord. He totally gets the "shaft" from me at times.
Because of my tendency to be human, I have a hard time understanding a God skillful enough to create the universe I live in, but yet personal enough to love me intimately. So I do things for Him, but have a hard time giving my whole life to Him. I spend time with Him, but am unaware of His presence at all times. I worship Him on Sundays, but fail to give Him the glory throughout the entire week. I say a few words of thanks to Him before a meal, but I don't have an attitude of praise. I plan my life asking for His blessings instead of surrendering the course of my life to Him. I say that I love Him, but it's based on His love for me. I know He loves me, yet fail to rely on His love. I say that He's all I need, yet I still cling to the things of this world. I say He's my provider, yet still stress the amount of the next paycheck.
I keep God in a box, and am surprised when He goes outside of it. (not that He could fit in it in the first place) I have pre-conceived ideas of the depth God wants to go in our relationship, so I fail to trust when He takes me deeper than expected. I put God in the "friendship zone" and miserably fail to realize that He wants so much more than anything I could ever dream of. But you know, there have been times where I have let go of my inhibitions and I've dove into the depth of an amazingly intimate relationship with the Lover of my Soul, and let me tell you, it's something that leaves a forever impression on you. And when you go through times of putting God back into the "friend zone," there is a still small Voice tenderly calling, an ache that speaks of something deeper, and a longing that cannot be quenched until we lose ourselves in the abyss of God's overwhelmingly loving arms. And that's a place where I want to stay. That's the place where I belong. That's a place where I am changed. And that's the place life is truly found.
