That’s it.
I’ve had it. I’m fed up and I’m not going to take it anymore. This relationship game is driving me bonkers. It has to be the only game in the world where the sole objective is to learn the rules. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the rules are constantly changing. What might have been a winning play yesterday ends in lost yardage today.

It’s not as if you can quit while you’re ahead, either. This game has no time limit, maximum score, or substitutions. You’re in the game from birth to death. One of the great thing about Heaven is going to be having the Almighty handy to explain the whole process to us once and for all. Of course, according to Matt. 22:23-33, the game will be over by then anyway. For the time being, our confusion continues.

As I understand it (don’t take me too seriously, here, I understand enough to know that I’m losing, not much else …) it’s like this on both sides of the great Battle of the Sexes. I can’t begin to tell you how relieved I was the first time a girl asked me why guys are so confusing. Up to that point, I thought we guys were like a bunch of kids pitted against the latest chess Grand Master after learning that chess is not checkers. Of course, this leaves me to wonder what the big mystery is. Luckily, as a fully qualified Hmmmologist, pondering is my specialty. A few observations:

No matter how we fight it, we all seem to want relationships. You can quibble over the details, but short of leading a monastic life, it’s a game we all play. Luckily, this is not a bad thing, but the work of God. However you read it, we were made plural (Genesis 1) and it seems that Adam is still looking to get that rib back.

Life is far too short to spend in constant worry over relationships. Stressing about them seems to work only occasionally and the relationships that we worry the most about are, from my observation, not often the strongest. Relax and have fun!

Ultimately, we’re all going for the same thing. Striving for a caring, comforting relationship seems to be human nature. We all want to be loved … so why the struggle?

Go out there, have fun, and try not to drop the ball.