5 Things I Learn from My Boyfriend

Yesterday I celebrated 2 years since the start of my journey of living in Ecuador! When I arrived in Ecuador, I was excited to learn about myself through travel- grow as a person- and have some amazing experiences. I know God brought me to Ecuador, but I had no idea exactly how my story would go here... I still don´t know... I am living through it presently. I do know that I have found the most amazing man... my wonderful boyfriend Byron here.

Now, I´m giving you a fair warning: this is a totally cheesy post, but perhaps it will encourage you to be more cheesy with your loved ones! In this post I will list 5 things I am learning from being in love with him.

1. CONSTANTLY THINKING

Before, I didn´t quite know how completely distracting loving someone could be. Unless all of my brain power is used up on a task- such as teaching- I don´t stop thinking about Byron. I actually don´t wonder about what he´s doing nor who he is with. Instead, I ponder about HOW he is doing more than anything.  I wish I could say that my thoughts are profound and interesting, but most of the time I´m just picturing his smile and hoping that he´s smiling. It drives me to pray for him. The great thing is that I know he does the same because of messages he sends at different times throughout the day.

2. SUPPORT

Clearly there are other people in my life who I wish to fully support, but this is another level. Byron is a teacher like me so we understand each other very well. The main difference is that he teaches young children while I work with teenagers and adults. It´s no coincidence that I end up with an elementary teacher- I grew up with them: my parents. I have had years to observe the challenges that being an elementary teacher creates, and all I want to do is support him. He also supports me. We listen to each other about our latest projects, and we respect each other´s space when the other needs to work during our free time. It will be our challenge to continue this mutual support down the line, but I think we are off to a good start!

3. SHARED EXPERIENCES

Traveling solo allows for amazing experiences. I found inner strength and learnt just how capable I am to handle new situations and solve unexpected problems. It´s incredibly valuable to travel by yourself. Even so, there is nothing like exploring new places, doing new activities, and laughing at the unexpected with someone special. My friends here in Ecuador are amazing and we have shared and will continue to share wonderful experiences together. I am blessed to have my friends and to have Byron who is willing and just as excited to go with me and enjoy this life together. With Byron by my side, I have come to appreciate even more doing small trips to local places that I have never been to before, or trying new things in this town. If you think that you have to travel to a far away place to have an adventure, you are mistaken. I have learned from Byron that we only need a little creativity and effort to enjoy where we live. 

4. INDEPENDENT GROWTH

Byron and I are still individuals with our own strengths and weaknesses. No matter how many years we get to share together, that will not change. As individuals we independently have personal goals. I love the way Byron is and he loves the way I am. But much in the same way Jesus Christ loves his Church, while we accept each other even in our faults, we hope to grow in our strengths and improve in our weaknesses. I don´t feel like I HAVE to be better for him, but I WANT to. He makes me want to be a better person even though I am accepted just as I am. We are both inspired by the other.

5. APPRECIATING DIFFERENCES

At the beginning of our relationship, we went to a Bible study where we learned an important lesson that I will paraphrase here: It is very important in relationships to celebrate the similarities and appreciate the differences. Thankfully, even though we come from different cultures and different backgrounds, we were taught similar values, we share similar perspectives, and we have similar interests. That doesn´t mean we are the same in every way. We do have many differences to appreciate and little by little we are learning about those differences. Some of them are cultural, others are gender related, and others are specific to our personalities. I might write another blog about these areas where we are different, but for now I am learning to love each unique facet of what makes Byron who he is.

So there you have it 5 things that I am learning because of my wonderful Byron. I have fallen for him slowly and completely. I hope to be able to keep learning from him and with him. It´s a beautiful gift to have him in my life.