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If you have a long distance best friend, you know those relationships are hard. But you also know how rewarding and wonderful they can be as well. I have been in long distance romantic relationships, family relationships and friendships for over 3 years now. I have really good friends where I live now, but the majority of my long-term friendships are long distance. One lives in Florida and the others live back in Indiana, where I am from. The distance can make it hard to feel connected to them and I no longer have the option of a last minute Target run or meeting up for coffee to connect. The distance makes us work harder to stay connected but the rewards are more than worth the labor. So, here are 10 things you can do when you are missing your long distance best friend.
1. FaceTime or Skype Dates
This is my favorite way to connect with my long distance friends. It’s the next best thing to having them right there with you. This is only on the iPhone though, but it also works if you have an iPad or any other apple product. If you don’t there are other video call programs out there, such as Skype. This is my favorite way to “spend time” with my best friends. We clear our schedule one evening and talk for hours. We get to catch up without the travel cost. Nothing beats in person but video call options are pretty darn close. We have even multi-tasked while video chatting, such as cooking dinner “together” or folding laundry while we catch up.2. Use Marco Polo
Marco Polo is an app that allows you to record videos that you can send back and forth in a conversation. They are saved there and your friend can watch and respond whenever they get time. It’s Snap Chat videos & texting combined. The conversation is saved so you can rewatch videos and you’re not limited on time frame. I like this option because I can send a funny story or vent about something to a friend who can watch it when she gets a free moment. Our schedules don’t have to line up for us to communicate with this app. It is especially useful if you are dealing with different time zones, where your free moments are less likely to line up.3. Send Letters or Cards
Who doesn’t love getting a handwritten card or letter in the mail? One of my long distance best friends raided a card store that was going out of business. She bought tons of off-the-wall cards and would send random, unrelated holiday or event cards to me in the mail with a note from her. They were hysterical and her notes were sweet. This simple act of kindness let me know she was thinking of me and brightened my day each time I got one.4. Send Care Packages to Each Other
Maybe your friend is having a rough time in school or is stressed at work. Maybe they just went through a breakup or got a bad grade. Grab a box and fill it with some fun encouragement and send it their way. It doesn’t have to be expensive or fancy to be meaningful. When one of my long distance best friends was in nursing school, she mentioned to me on several occasions how stressed she was. She had a lot of really hard tests coming up and was studying like crazy. So, another friend of mine and I teamed up and put together a “Study Survival Kit” that had fun pens, stickers, colored note cards, her favorite snacks, a cute coffee mug, coffee and an little desk sign with an encouraging saying on it. I remember her telling me for weeks afterward how much she appreciated that gesture.5. Become Accountability Partners
By this I mean something like doing a workout program at the same time or studying through a book of the Bible at the same time or even taking the same class in separate locations, such as a painting or pottery class. Earlier this year, one of my long distance best friends and I committed to doing 80 Day Obsession at the same time. This involved an intense 45-60 minute workout every day and a very specific timed-nutrition eating plan. Most days we shared our progress with the workouts, our thoughts on how they went and what meals we were eating to give each other ideas. This also helped keep us accountable and helped me not give up on the program.6. Plan Your Next Visit
Even if it is months away, having a “next time” visit planned can help with feeling disconnected. I often go months and months without seeing my long distance best friend in person. Before we part, I like to take some time and figure out when “next time” will be for us, even if it is 6, 9 or even 12+ months into the future. It isn’t always possible, but the farther in advance you plan, the more likely it is to happen. If you live within driving distance, try a “halfway” visit. Over the New Year’s holiday, my long distance best friend and I met halfway and split a hotel bill to ring in the new year together. This way, you split the drive, the cost and double the fun.7. Take A Vacation Together
Sometimes, you just live too far away to know when you’ll be seeing each other next. Sometimes, you’re in a place where half way is still too far. If you are going to spend money to travel, why not choose a mutual destination for your next vacation? Traveling to another place together may even be more cost-effective because you can choose the location based on price and deals. If you choose to share lodging costs, it makes the trip even more affordable. My long distance best friend and I recently vacationed with our husbands together in Aruba! We planned this trip two years in advance so we could save up. We chose to get one room with a couch bed and split the hotel bill. It was an amazing vacation with memories we’ll cherish for years to come. And my husband and I definitely couldn’t have afforded to go without sharing the lodging costs. Win/Win!8. Take & Display Photos
When you are together, be sure to get pictures with one another. Now that I am away from my friends all of the time, I care a lot more about the photos we have together. I have a photo board hanging in my office that has a variety of pictures of myself with my long distance best friend on it. When the distance makes me feel far from them, it’s nice to see a photo of us hugging or laughing together.9. Give Each Other Grace
Long distance is hard. You may go weeks or months without talking to your long distance best friend. Life gets hectic and we all go through busy seasons. Do your best to check in on one another but if it doesn’t happen for a little while, it is okay. It doesn’t mean that friendship is over. Give each other some grace and do your best to remind one another that you are thinking of them.10. Pray For Them
Most importantly, cover them in prayer. Pray for their relationship with God to grow deeper, pray for opportunities to connect with one another, pray for their health, families, finances and for their dreams. To pray for my friends, both near and far, I keep a record of their needs in my prayer journal from ValMarie Paper. Each month I ask for what I can be praying with them about, write it down and am able to continually lift up their needs to the Lord without forgetting or digging through my text messages.
If you have ever been consistently prayed for by others, you know the intimacy, peace, and joy that can bring. Relationships deepen all-around with the power of prayer.
Do you have a long distance best friend? How do you stay connected to them? Tell me in the comments!
Love this so much! Great ideas 😉
Thank you! 🙂