My Nickel’s Worth

If there is one thing I know for sure, things are always changing. This is true in the relationships we build over the course of our lives. Why do people come into your life with whom you become really close for a period of time – only to have them fade away, yet, others in your life grow into lifelong friends?

While attending college, I met some incredible people. Some have proven to be best friends, while other people were there for me just for a season. Although I am still considered a young man, I have experienced this phenomenon several times.

All stages of life experience this relational carousel —whether that be at school, work, or play. My first few years of college, I had two friends that I spent time with every chance I could. Although college gets more excruciating as the years go by, you always try to find time for the most important people in your life. One of those friends almost became a complete stranger to me as we were in the midst of our last year, while the other friends and I stayed close. It is incredible to me how some people can change the way they act towards you in a blink of an eye, no matter what you have been through with them. I would always ask myself, was it something I did? Did we just go our separate ways? Did certain people come into my life who changed their opinions of me? Even when you reach out to that person in every way, whether that be a call, text, in person conversation, sometimes you cannot do anything to change where things stand. As a Christian, I strongly believe that the Lord places people in your life for a reason, as well as a season. Maybe you were going through a rough patch, and the Lord placed someone in your life for that specific time period.

Not everyone will end up being your best friend, and that is okay – maybe it is meant to be that way. There will be friends that do come along in your life who will have a lasting effect on you. Rest in the fact that the Lord is in control. Enjoy the life you have now, meet new people daily, build new relationships while nurturing the old ones, and know that the Lord will constantly place people in your life, whether that be for a season, or a lifetime, and sometimes they are there because they need you.