It’s a classic tale. Boy meets girl. Boy and girl fall in
love. Marriage and babies follow. The babies grow up, become friends with their
parents friends’ children, and the cycle begins again. Same school, same church, same sports, same college. It happens all the time
in neighborhoods all over the world. It happened in mine. Those I grew up with
settled down with people that fit with the lifestyle they were already living,
many of them with their childhood sweethearts.
I wonder what the statistics are for how far the average
person gets away from the area where they were born. Fifty mile radius? A couple hundred
maybe? How many people who manage to get away for college or join the military,
end up returning to settle down in their home town?
Does commonality equate with long lasting, happy
relationships? Are mutual interests enough? A shared love of football, hiking,
or pop culture? Or do you need deeper core values in common? Can a Buddhist and
a Catholic have a long term, happy relationship? What about a Democrat and a Republican?
Maybe with mutual respect the differences in opinion simply
make your relationship more interesting. Is such a thing even possible?
If to
your very core you believe in heaven and that you must accept Jesus as your
Savior, can you live knowing your partner refuses to do the same? Does it tear
you up inside?
If you believe in a woman’s right to choose, can your partner
reconcile their belief that life begins at conception?
This isn’t even touching on your friends and family and the
controversy that will arise there. I’m
just musing about things between the two of you. Friends and family are a whole different
mess.
Obviously there was something that attracted you to that
person to begin with. Perhaps that alone says those differences aren’t such a
big deal. On the other hand, who meets a guy at a bar and says, “by the way, I
believe in stem cell research.” Unless, of course, you’re trying to scare him
off. While you’re at it, unless you have something nice to say, you might want
to stay away from the topic of his alma mater as well. ;)
Your thoughts?
