Respect The Timing

“When it comes to love, sometimes you win some and you lose some”

 

It’s a concept that sounds simple enough, but one that most people don’t embrace- myself included. You see, there was a time in the not too distant past, when I refused to quit on a relationship … no matter how bad it got.

 

Call me a hopeless romantic or a complete dummy if you must … as long as you don’t label me as a 'quitter'. In my mind, that was always my best quality-especially when you consider the rising number of people who give up on their relationships for the most trivial of things.

 

I didn’t want to jump ship at the first sign of trouble. So everything that I did was geared towards my desire not to be “that girl.”

 

But then I met him…

 

And in so many ways, he changed my life. Better yet, he challenged my perspective on dating and relationships.

 

Let me explain.

 

When we met, it wasn’t in a romantic context. Yet every time we spoke, the chemistry between us was undeniable. In a time, when my life was both flourishing and simultaneously suffocating me, he had become my escape from the madness.

 

He was smart…He was driven…He was funny…He was quirky like me…He was God-fearing…And he was sexy on another level…

 

Basically, he was everything that I could ever want in a man.

 

Sounds almost too perfect, right? 

Well it was. As great as he was, and as much fun as we had together, 

he was not in a space where he could get close to another woman.

He had recently broken off a long relationship, and his heart was off limits and nowhere near ready to open itself up to someone else.

 

The rational side of me understood that … in fact, the rational me often told the love-struck me to just chill out.

 

I couldn’t though.

 

The “I can’t quit” side of me believed that because things felt right between us, then we could just push past the real life circumstances and forge something meaningful. And while that might work in the movies, timing is everything in real life … and his timing was clearly out of whack with mine.

 

But I didn’t want to hear it at the time. I was still so convinced that I could make it work. So, I pushed forward … and in the process, I ended up pushing him away.

 

As I write these words, I’ve finally come face-to-face with one of my greatest regrets. More than anything,

 I regret ignoring the season that he was in,

and that I didn’t respect the fact that the timing between us wasn't right.

Lesson learned.

 

If he’s out there, I hope he knows that I now understand why we didn’t work. Because of him, I fully comprehend the importance of timing.

 

It’s a lesson that we can all learn from. For two people to work, it takes more than great chemistry. In many ways, the stars have to align just right for a relationship to work.

 

That’s why, when they do align, you have to do all that you can to protect it. You have to cherish it, nurture it, and tirelessly work to sustain it. You have to embrace the fact that you are one of the lucky ones to meet the right person, at the right time, when you’re both ready for each other.

 

Because trust me … it doesn’t happen as often as you might think.

 

Far too often, people meet at a time when the seasons just aren’t right. And when they do, they have to be mature enough to acknowledge that the timing isn’t right, and walk away … no matter how good it may feel.

 

I had to learn that lesson the hard way …

 

But thankfully, I know it now … and it’s all because of him.

-lesson learned