Time Will Tell

Anytime you ridicule or provoke someone about an area of their life that you perceive they are lacking, I believe that it will only be a matter of time before life claps back and comes for you. Maybe so much so, that you will learn to think before you speak and exercise wisdom before you ever say something foolish about someone else’s journey. Years ago, I knew of different couples who were engaged and later married. Although some of them didn’t know each other very well or had been together too long, they decided to make things official. Some of the men and women I knew in those relationships boasted and frequently posted on social media about their love lives, made fun of me and others for being unmarried, and often offered unsolicited relationship advice. To this day, I remember every comment, insult, offense, dig, and joke that was shared. In response, I said nothing. I eventually learned I wouldn’t have to. Time would tell how things would turn out.

And when time spoke, man, did it have a lot to say. 

By way of conversations with different confidants and trusted sources, tea was spilled, and I learned that those same couples’ relationships were completely over. Their marriages didn’t even last one full year. And I was surprised to learn how quickly things ended. On the outside looking in, everyone seemed happy, and things appeared they were going well. But apparently, they weren’t. I don’t point any of this out to be cruel, and I certainly didn’t rejoice when I learned how quickly things turned, but I think it’s telling how things unfolded.

I don’t believe you should ever get to a place in life where you belittle others, think you’ve arrived, and are incapable of falling short. Everyone’s journey is different, and you never know the full extent of someone’s situation or know of the private battles and struggles they face behind closed doors, so why poke fun or criticize them about what they don’t have? I can’t speak for everyone, but I don’t have much to say about what’s going on in anyone else’s life but my own. I’m learning to master the skill of minding my own business. What’s going on in someone else’s relationship, or lack thereof, or how someone chooses to be on their own or not, is none of my concern. Which is why it’s always been baffling to me how different couples, especially married ones, feel so free to speak on or concern themselves with what unmarried people are doing. I can’t imagine where they find the time. But anyway. Time is especially telling and a very precious thing. So, make good use of it. If you’re reading this right now, whether you’re in a relationship or not, above all, I wish you well and hope you make this year a great one.