I like this thread
The answer is a resounding YES! We get terribly distracted BUT... and this is the biggest make or break sign. Does this relationship make me the best ME I can be for God. Does it enhance what I'm working toward or does it reset who I am and undermine everything I'm working toward.
I am continually being built up and encouraged with the gifts I've been given OR am I jumping through imaginary hoops to fulfill imaginary expectations. One leads to amazing fruit, and Joy and Love that exceeds expectations BUT, the other only leads to misery and eventually separation.
Arwen, you have gifts and talents that match with someone else's gifts and talents. If you have to try and find new gifts to satisfy the person that you are with, they aren't helping your walk with God. Your gifts are like Superpowers, the person who makes you better at what you already excel at, is the person you naturally belong with.
If I was a runner, I wouldn't want to be stuck with someone who never runs. If I was a student I would not want to be stuck with someone who has no taste for learning.
Trust your compass and stay the course. Whether you can see the light at the end of the tunnel or not, trust what you know is right for you.
(Sorry if this turns out as a double post everyone!! It probably will...)
This is a good post Liamson, but I do want to throw a caveat in there....
Though there are exceptions to nearly every rule...in general, it's not someone who's 'just-like-you' that you need, but someone different. (an exception to this is that if you're already a completely centered and well-balance copy of Jesus...then you do probably want or need someone just like you...but caveats there too..)
What do I mean? Usually (again, you always have to interpret and there are exceptions, but I'm generalizing here...common...) a 'good' match is between people who have strengths where the other person is weak. They have similarities, but are ultimately quite different. They 'balance' and 'better' one another for being a pair, though.
For Example, if I already have on shoes...I don't need another pair off shoes...I may need a coat. If I have a coat, but I get easily burned by the sun...I may need a hat. All of these are clothes, but 'who' they are and 'what' they do are quite different, though complimentary.
In the same way, with your runner analogy, maybe someone who is not a runner can work quite well for you. They may support you in your running (or even occasionally run with you), but they are more of the 'stroller' type.
This is good. You see, when ever anyone falls to far to an extreme of something, inevitably negative consequences ensue. That's why we have poles. North and South, East and West, Conservative and Liberal, Introvert and Extrovert...
Admist all the many things in life, one the primary 'goals' or 'functions' of 'creation' for 'existence' is balance. It's all works in a harmony or balance which we need to strive to understand and work not only toward, but to maintain once there.
There are times when someone similar to you might be good, such as someone who feels the need to be up at night might be better suited for another 'night owl' type, but in contrast, perhaps it's the 'early bird' partner that helps the 'night owl' not miss all the day commitments he/she has.
I agree that we our relationships should make us (and them) better for being and not worse, but be careful how you look at or thing about it.
