Here, Then Gone

Friends come and go. We all know it. Most of us have experienced it. But that doesn’t mean it’s always easy to deal with or understand. When something we think is good or something that is actually good enters our lives we often question why it leaves. Or at least I do.

Since I was in elementary school I always longed to have that “best friend.” That one person that I would be close with forever. That seemed important to me at the time. And when the friends I had faded away for no particular reason, I got mad. Mad at them, mad at God. Not mad at myself cause that’s never really been an issue but I was mad. I’ve experienced that pattern of friendship more times than I can count. And what’s funny is I thought I was the only one. How selfish of me. We’ve all experienced loss whether it was a loved one who passed, a friend who just sort of went away, or something else. But there’s a reason for that.

It may sound cliche to say that God has a reason for everything or that bad things happen for good reasons but it’s true. Every time I “lost” one person I gained a new one. Maybe not immediately, but eventually. In elementary school new friends came along relatively quick. Middle school was a little harder but I stayed friends with the same people for those 2-3 years. High school is where it got rough. I realized the people I was friends with in middle school were not gonna last throughout the next 4 years.

A lot of drama happened my first 2-3 years making high school a more difficult experience then I would have liked. By my senior year the closest thing I had to a best friend went away and I was done with everybody. So, I decided to focus on God more and try to be someone people look at and wonder why I am happy or what I had that they don’t. Doing that not only made high school better, but has also made life more enjoyable.

Now I’m in college and I’ve learned a very valuable lesson: God places people in our lives because they are going to help us in a season of our life. And sometimes we’re able to help them too. Then, when He takes those people out, it’s because that season of our life is over and He has new things in store for us that come with new people. Some will last forever, like (for me), family and God, others won’t. And sure it’s hard and it sucks for a while, but after every stormy season comes a rainbow. A rainbow that is full of new people to meet, new places to go, and new things to experience.

I hope this message speaks to you in some way, and as always, thanks for reading :).