To love someone who we can see and touch every day is precious, but there’s something extraordinarily powerful about loving someone across any distance. Long-distance relationships are not for the faint of heart. They require enormous reserves of courage, patience, love, and trust. They require devotion, communication, and a commitment to making it work. Without these ingredients, the connection can be easily broken. Here are just a few of the challenges long-distance couples have to overcome.

The Challenges of a Long Distance Relationship

Communication

Long-distance couples have to figure out communication for the relationship to work. This is complicated even if the couples are sharing the same time zone. Not only is timing a factor, but they also have to decide how they’ll manage communication. Regularly messaging, scheduling phone calls, and arranging regular video calls could help keep the relationship alive. It’s not just about technology, however. For a long-distance relationship to work, the couple needs to be able to share what they want from life and from the relationship. They need to be comfortable sharing their feelings openly and talking about the challenges that will occur during the relationship. They also need to hone their skills when it comes to conflict resolution. Learning to fight fair and make up at a distance is a challenging but necessary skill for any couple—and more so for a long-distance one.

Trust

It’s impossible to manage a long-distance relationship without trust. It’s just not possible. Both partners have to trust that the other person is being faithful. Without trust as the bedrock of the relationship, it is sure to fail.

Intimacy

Intimacy is yet another challenge of long-distance relationships. Figuring out how to keep the spark alive may require creativity and loads of patience. Developing emotional intimacy might become the focus where physical intimacy might be less satisfying in the time apart. This is another area where those communication skills will play a role. Long-distance relationships can be lonely, and building intimacy can help create a sense of closeness. Recommended read: 39 Toxic Relationship Quotes – So You Don’t Feel Alone

The Rewards of a Long Distance Relationship

Abundance Over Scarcity

Although the challenges are obvious, the rewards might not be. Long distance relationships can teach us about gratitude and abundance. Instead of focusing on the time apart, we learn how to be more present in the time we spend together. We cultivate an attitude of abundance and learn how to stretch the hours spent together to cover all the time we spend apart.

Creative Connection

We learn to know each other at a deeper level because words become the sustenance of the relationship, keeping it alive. Through calls, messages, and videos, we return again and again to the ones we love. While all relationships have an element of connection, chemistry, and intimacy, long-distance relationships need to be creative about cultivating and sustaining these elements across a distance. We learn how to invest in our relationships even when it’s far from easy. It takes dedication, but we end up enjoying deeper, more fulfilling relationships when we’re able to connect at this level. Recommended read: Long Distance Relationships: The Ultimate Guide

Committed Love

Of course, the greatest benefit of a long distance relationship is knowing that someone loves you even when it’s hard. The commitment and dedication required shows us just how much they care. As we grow closer and strengthen the relationship, the love is affirmed time and time again. Life is immensely difficult, and we need partners who can face the tough times with us and come out the other side with their hand still holding our own. Successful long distance relationships show us our partner’s true commitment and their ability to face up to tough things without losing sight of what matters. Love, in the end, is the ultimate reward. The following quotes will give you all the feels if you have ever been in a long-distance relationship. It captures the humor, the longing, the hope, and the love of these difficult but rewarding relationships. Here’s to the couples who are making it work.

40 Long Distance Relationship Quotes

Long Distance Relationship Quotes: Final Thoughts

We hope you liked these long distance relationship quotes. When it comes to this type of relationships, it’s important to remember the 4 C’s: communication, compromise, commitment, and connection. Long-distance relationships can be tough, and they do require more effort than your garden-variety relationship. It doesn’t mean they’re impossible. It just means that you love each other enough to know that it’s worth overcoming the present challenges for the beautiful future you’re building together. Here’s to all the long-distance lovers!  Get access to exclusive self-improvement and relationships content, subscribe to our free newsletter here. Featured photo for the article “Long Distance Relationship Quotes to Give You All the Feels” by Ridofranz from iStock