Saying goodbye to any relationship can be heartbreaking. Sometimes people come to therapy to process end of relationships such as divorce, death, or various estrangements. It’s human nature to want to latch on to what was, so the end a relationship can feel devastating. This can be true of toxic relationships as well. Even in therapy, saying goodbye can be hard. The end of relationships can happen for a variety of reasons. With some of these relationship end challenges such as processing distance in a friendship or the end of therapy, I will often share a poem to help reflect and process that relationship and the space it had in your life. I’ll let you read it and come to your own conclusion…
A Reason, Season, or a Lifetime
People always come into your life for a reason, a season and 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, or to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or even spiritually. They may seem like a godsend to you, and they are. They are there for a 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 just 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. And like Spring turns to Summer and Summer to Fall, the season eventually ends.
LIFETIME relationships teach you a lifetime of 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 in your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
By: Brian A. “Drew” Chalker
Want more to reflect on? Try my journal! Current and previous clients can email me and get it for just $3!
