Forever and Always

Hello my dear readers!
It's been far too long since I have written a blog post. I've just been so swamped with school and life, but I've had a lot on my mind lately that needs to come out in a form of a blog post. So here it goes.

Forever. Always. These are two words of stability, of permanence; words which meanings we come to expect, words that are used often, but aren't thought or talked of nearly enough. Think about it. How many times have you told a friend that you'll always be there for them; a boyfriend that the two of you will be together forever? At the time they are spoken, we may mean these words with all of our hearts, but do we ever really think about these words and the responsibility that comes with speaking them? Until quite recently, I know I never did.

So what do they mean?
According to Dicionary.com, "always" can be defined as:
1. every time; every occasion; without exception.
2. all the time; continuously, uninterruptedly.
3. forever.
4. in every event; at any time; if necessary.

"forever" is defined as:
1. without ever ending; eternally.
2. continuously; incessantly; always.
      Okay, so you may have known the meanings of these words, but have you thought about the problem with them? There are only so many things one can always count on; not much lasts forever. These words are eternal, infinite, are consistent to the ultimate point, are permanent. But very few things in this life are permanent.
So what is?
     I'm the type of person who longs for deep, life-long friendships. And I don't need that many friends, I just need close ones. Therefore, I often have the mindset that my friendships will last forever - that nothing will come between my friends and me. I know things will change, but I always expect my friendships to adapt to change. This leaves me completely and overwhelmingly shocked when a person I was once close to drifts away, or something happens that causes a break in the friendship. I can easily remove myself from unhealthy situations, but I never see them coming, and I am always hit square in the face with the fact that no matter how much I want them to, friendships don't last forever. People grow up, change, and move away, and I have to move on. Friendships aren't permanent.
     Circumstances aren't permanent either. I know a lot of people who get so shaken up when something in their life changes. If they have to move, change schools, change jobs, etc., it's like they expect everything to always remain the same. But it doesn't.
The truth of the matter is, there is only one thing that is permanent. Only one thing that will always last forever. And that is love. But not the kind of love that popular culture promotes these days - the kind that one can "fall out of", the kind that demands something in return, but the kind of love that can only come from Jesus. The perfect, sacrificial, intense, all-consuming love of Jesus. The kind of love that inspired him to die for us, the kind of love that promised us life. That love is something we can always count on no matter what, something that lasts forever, that is infinite, that is consistent, true, and real.
     Now, I'm not saying that we shouldn't use forever and always unless speaking of God's love, but I am saying that in this temporary life, we as Christians can have hope. We can have hope because we know of something that these can be applied to truthfully. We have something that is permanent.