Getting to Know You

" getting to know you, getting to know all about you..."
it's kind of fun getting to know someone new, just the sheer newness of it. In some ways it gives you a fresh start, because that person is getting to know you as you are now not as you have been, not how you've been changed or anything just you the way you are. and you get to know someone else likes and dislikes and who they are.
there is also something that makes you feel good about someone wanting to get to know you.
it's nice to make connections too.
i believe that over the Internet is a good way to do this but with some caution.
social situations can be awkward especially for those who are in general socially awkward to begin with. you don't have to worry about looking or acting a certain way so it's more genuine and honest and if you screw it up oh well you close the window and never have to speak to the person again. problem is you can also be as dishonest as you want to be too, and no one is the wiser. it's likely not a good long term solution but it is nicer to have a pen pal that writes back right away. sometimes you will never meet, sometimes you hope to meet and sometimes it's just a starting block.
i have people in my life now that fit into all 3 categories, people from here and people from farther away, and i know where they fit into my life. it's funny how you can have good friends that you have never met and live thousands of miles away but you just know that they've got your back.
or people with potential to be more in your life in the future.
it has been an interesting summer so far, i wonder what the fall will bring?

Trust

Trust is a funny thing, and it needs to be in balance in your life in order for any of it to work really. If you are too trusting, you get taken advantage of and stepped all over and just can't see the evil in people, however if you trust no one you risk leading a very empty and miserable life.
the problem comes in when people whom you have trusted betray you and you become overly cynical of nearly everyone else around you. you doubt yourself and your character judgement of people and wonder how much the next person is going to screw you over. so you keep everyone at a distance for fear of being hurt but it is a lonely existence. you try to avoid the pain of betrayal but enter a void of loneliness.
when you don't trust yourself who else can you trust?
yes God, but sometimes the circumstances in our lives cause us to question even his wisdom. which is awesome to question the one who created you and all things as if HE does not know what He is doing, and us mere humans can run our lives better.

as it says in psalm 118:8
Far better to take refuge in God than trust in people

however in our everyday lives there needs to be some amount of trust put in those around us.
why do we give our trust to those unworthy of it time and again but have a hard time trusting those whom we have no real reason to distrust.
the problem comes in when getting to know someone, that relationship, of whatever sort can only progress so far on a surface level, if you do not trust a person enough to open up then the relationship fades or stays as merely acquaintances or superficial relationships.
if you open up too quickly and trust too much it may be too much for someone to handle and they take off wounding you yet again causing you to retreat further into your shell.
but what if you build up the trust slowly? it can go either way, some people just wait until they've earned your trust enough to get in on whatever level they want and then they strike, and yet i believe that the majority of people are not like that it's just that those who are do so much damage.
we just have to realize that people are people, imperfect by nature and even those closest to us can hurt us either intentionally or unintentionally, and while trust is something to be earned it still must be given the opportunity to be earned and grown.