Reason, Season, Lifetime

Recently Ben and I have had visitors at our home from out of town.  Friends from college, friends we've met along the way, family friends, and our family - who are our best friends.  The "life lesson" below was shared with me 10 years ago by a dear friend of mine and after such wonderful visits, I thought it was appropriate to share.  I have often refered  back to this when thinking of great friends, when thinking of friends I have lost touch with, when helping friends who have realized that some people are not Lifetime friends but maybe a REASON friend.  Just wanted to share - I hope you will enjoy this as much as I have and share with friends who are going through a hard time or when you just want to share with those people who are LIFETIMES.   Not everyone can be a lifetime friend and coming to this realization is sometimes hard and sometimes hurtful.  BUT realizing their season or reason is a blessing from God and will allow you to be thankful for what their purpose was for you - OR your purpose for them. 

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



When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly. 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 wrong doing 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 or out 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 it is now time to move on.


When people come into your life for a SEASON, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They may 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; those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people (anyway); 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.