For many, coming off the highs of summer break and getting back into the swing of school isn't always easy. For me, though, it never seemed to pose a problem, but this year was different. I found myself immersed in new friendships with great people, but it left me to neglect the friendships I had made the year past. I didn't know how to balance my time and my emotions, and social anxieties seemed to rule my life. I didn't want to lose my old friends, but I also didn't want to lose my new ones either. Somewhere in the middle, I was able to talk with some friends that I had managed to still stay close to. I vented my frustrations and listened to the advice they had for me.
Over break, I decided to re-evaluate my life in the areas of who I was choosing to spend time with and was their presence in my life a positive or negative one. In coming back, I was able to talk out my issues with one group of friends and did the best I could to mend the others, but it wasn't working. I found myself in tears more often than not saddened by the fact that the people I thought I was closest to were not anymore. Around this time, the Lord showed me that I may not be as close to that particular group of friends anymore, but He was always there for me and in his goodness he was surrounding me with new friends for the current season in life.
From that point on, I decided to stop trying to force something to stick. It's no good to beat a dead horse, and I knew that I was seen and I was cared for by the people who were in my life at that point. There is no bitterness or hatred in the situation, and I will continue to extend the love of God towards them because they are still my friends.
In a recent conversation with a friend, they mentioned the term "seasonal friendships", and it was a term I had heard before but had never applied it to myself. It was then that I put two and two together. Life is never meant to stay the same. Especially in our world today situations and people are always changing. As we grow and change from season to season the Lord will bring people into our lives when we need them, and that is a beautiful gift. Sometimes those people will be there till the end and other times it will only be for a little while.
Change isn't always easy I'm human and it hurts sometimes, but I am learning to be okay with seasonal friendships. I find peace in the words from Ecclesiastes 3:1 which says "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens." It's okay for things to fall apart and change it's just part of life, and I know that through it all the Lord is by my side.
Seasonal friendships ARE okay. Don't allow yourself to stress out to the point of breaking. The people in your life right now care about you, and it's okay if you drift apart. It is one of the hardest parts about being human. Live for the now and love on those who are around you now.
