{my images are free goodies for you to enjoy & share}
Our lives are like paths and sometimes we walk parallel to each other. When that happens, we tend to think we’ll stay side-by-side as friends forever. Then we come to an unexpected fork in the road and God asks us to take steps in different directions. And over time, we discover we’re not as close.
Confession: I hate it when this happens.
My natural tendency is going back to the past. Or abandoning the road God has for me so I can get on the one He’s chosen for my friend. Or running ahead to where our paths might cross again. But here’s the trouble with those choices: I would be following my heart instead of following Jesus.
Here’s the hard reality I’m learning to embrace:
Some friends are with us for a reason {a specific goal/purpose from God}.
Some friends are with us for a season {a particular time in His plan}.
Very few will walk beside us for a lifetime.
That doesn’t mean we’re a failure at friendship or we’ve done something wrong. It simply means God has a unique path for each of us. Yes, sometimes friendships drift through neglect or self-destruct because of unresolved conflict. But I’ve found more often we have just completed the part of the journey God intended for us to share.
And that’s okay.
The only person we must walk with for a lifetime is Jesus. As we do, we can trust He’ll bring friends alongside us for a reason, season or lifetime in the ways and times that are truly best.
XOXO
Holley Gerth
p.s. My dear friend Kristen Strong has written a lot of wonderful words about friendship and you can find them on her blog.
Books to encourage you…
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