Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father, and do not go to your brother's house when disaster strikes you -- better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away (Proverbs 27:10).

My life can feel kind of complicated sometimes.  I was born and spent the first 25 years of my life in the United States of America; but I've spent the better part of the last decade (thus, the majority of my adult life) in the Netherlands.  And so, I find that there are two places in the world where I feel kind of at home -- and two places in the world where I feel kind of foreign.  Over the years, I've learned that the transition between the two places can be tricky, at times.  Typically, when I'm going from one "home" to the other, I start to feel anxious and unsettled -- worried to leave a comfortable rhythm of life and concerned that I might find my "other home" suddenly foreign and uncomfortable.  However, after a few short weeks of being "back home" (whichever place that might be) and readjusting to whichever environment I'm in, I typically discover that these fears to be unfounded.  After just a little while, I start revelling and relaxing in the presence of familiar people, places, and customs.  Just like closing my eyes, smiling, and swaying to an old favorite song on the jukebox...

It occurs to me that the song on that proverbial jukebox is Crosby, Stills, and Nash's "Love the One You're With."  Do you know the song?  It's a ludicrous number, really.  Only in the 1960s era of "make love, not war," only in the long-haired hippie commune generation, only in the song-stylings of Crosby, Stills, and Nash could one get away with lyrics such as "If you can't be with the one you love, honey, love the one you're with." Normally, I would have nothing but contempt for such a fickle, conditional, contextual concept of love.

But my experiences in trans-Atlantic life make me wonder if there might really be some benefits of this philosophy.  Not so much on the level of romantic love and fidelity, but more on the level of practicing a sense of presence.  Basically, I'm learning that life is a whole lot more enjoyable if I savor the experiences which are currently in front of me, as opposed to pining for the "other place" (even though that is a very real temptation and common pitfall).  While it's perfectly okay to miss family and friends who are a long ways away, it's also good to remember:  "Better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away."  Believe it or not, if I take a moment and drink in my surroundings, it turns out that the grass can actually appear to be greener on this side of the fence at times!  If you can't be with the one I love -- well, maybe it's better to simply love the one you're with.  I can find shoulders to cry on wherever God might have me in a given moment.  I can find helping hands, regardless of the circumstances around me.  I can choose to be present and faithful to those in my immediate context, without taking anything away from the brothers who may be separated from me at the time.  It's wise to simply be present.  Life becomes richer, more enjoyable, and healthier when you love the one you're with.