Friendships and Seasons

I've been thinking a lot about friendships lately.  I am fortunate to have had some wonderful friends touch my life over the years.  Sometimes I think back to friends I had that I really liked and I wonder what happened to them and wonder where they are and what they are doing.  I have friends who I think of often but don't really talk to.  I have friends that I chat with on FB or call and text occasionally, but very few friends that I hold near and dear to my heart.  You know....those friends that are part of your BFF (best friends forever) circle.

I've watched my girls who are in college and high school, lose friends, make friends and change best friends as they grow up and find their own way.  They have friends that hurt them and they don't really understand why.

As I'm getting older, my friends are on my mind more and more these days.  Parents have become ill, a a spouse has passed away, a marriage has ended.  Life starts to hurt a little more in different ways. We need those special friends to help us navigate through emotions and troubles that are new to us. We need that shoulder to cry on and someone to lean on. But not all friends understand where you are and what you are going through. It takes a special friend to listen, love and pray with you. Sometimes your friends are there and you don't even know it.  They are with you in spirit.

I have told my girls that sometimes friendships run their own course. Friends are sometimes here for a reason and then they go away.  If you are lucky and blessed, you find one that will be with you throughout your life's journey.  Here is the poem  - unknown by author but a good reminder in understanding why some friends come and go and some stay forever.

Reason, Season, or Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you figure out which one it is,
you will know what to do for each person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty;
to provide you with guidance and support;
to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,
and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

— Unknown

Forget Me Nots...  Do you have a friend that you need to reach out to today or maybe one that is on your mind?  Whether it's for a reason or a season - reach out.

“Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven, Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels” ― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Have a great day!

Paula