People come and go in our lives. There is a time and a place for everything and everyone. This is a known fact, and although this is something we are aware of, it doesn't seem to soften the blow when the timer on a friendship is finally up. As a result, I am left with a lot of questions, such as:
What did I do?
Did I not try hard enough?
Was my friendship invaluable?
Why couldn't I make you stay?
Seasonal friendships don't always end messy, but they leave on a note of uncertainty at times. Whether we are the one walking away or the one feeling abandoned, there are ways to find peace in the vagueness of these friendships.
I think it takes a lot of courage to walk away from people who don't better you, encourage you, or love you well.
I've stayed in a lot of these "seasonal friendships" out of comfortability and convenience, and sometimes I think that probably hurt me more. Now, this doesn't mean that you need to drop everybody but your deep rooted friends; however, at the end of the day, all of your friendships cannot be lukewarm. You have to have people who challenge and grow you as an individual. You have to have people that you share your heart with. When you take that extra step of vulnerability, trust people with the weight you carry, and love people when they don't love themselves, you'll find the true value of friendship. It's worth the extra step to let people in for a change. It's worth the extra step to trust people to help you carry the things that weigh you down. It's worth the extra step to love people who help you grow. Most of all, it is worth the extra step to have deep rooted friendships because those are the friendships that will continue to grow and flourish. Half-hearted friendships can't do that.
Although it takes a lot of courage to walk away from people, I think it takes the most courage to let people walk away from you.
I've wrestled with a lot of people to try and understand what I was doing wrong and why they had to leave. I've tried to mend broken bridges and love people who leave me empty, but sometimes there are broken things that stay broken. And that's okay. Sometimes, what you have to give to a person is only needed for that season of their life. And that's okay, too. Just because some things around us are broken doesn't mean that we are also broken. Just because somebody didn't need or want what you had to offer doesn't mean that we have nothing to give.
As people, we change. Our moods and feelings towards things can change in an instant. There are places, events, and people that can effect our entire day. I think some aspects of people (our fleshly desires) are incredibly fickle. Some people aren't meant to stay in our lives forever, and in seasons such as this, I am able to seek out the simple joy of how far I've come because of seasonal friendships. Just because we've run our course with some friendships doesn't mean it wasn't worth it. Although these friendships don't last, the impact still does, and that is something you can find comfort in as seasons come and go.
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven."
Ecclesiastes 3:1
