God puts people in your life for a Reason, a Season, or a Lifetime. Sometimes you are the teacher and sometimes you are the student. Sometimes you are the catalyst and sometimes you are the affected. But there is always a lesson to be learned. The Reasons have a purpose. God places them in your path for one, specific, purpose. For Good or Bad, their circle touches yours...often for mere moments, sometimes for longer. But invariably, once their purpose--that lesson--is over, so too is your relationship with them. You are always someone's Reason--good and bad. Every moment of the day. Should the lesson not be learned, He will send more Reasons until He gets through because He never gives up on anyone. The Seasons are those whose paths naturally cross ours as we grow and age and move through life. God gives them to us to walk with us for a time, sharing events in common. Supporting and being supported. They too serve to teach us lessons. And we are all someone else's Season. Every acquaintance is but for a Season. They don't last, just as the seasons of the calendar don't last. We carry the impressions of a harsh, cruel winter within us as much as we do a fun-filled summer day. With time, the memory fades, but the lessons remain. We will have many of these in life. In all our Seasons, for as long as we have life, God seeks to teach us and have us teach others. The Lifetimes are the rarest and most treasured of all. God knows our struggles and knows *just* when to place a new Lifetime in our path. And the Lifetimes we already have, are always there--when we mess up and when we win. He prepares us to be a Lifetime for others, too. Those few souls who walk with you through all trials, who never leave...those few who you would walk with forever, despite distance or hardship. We crave that soul deep connection, and God provides a choice few to answer that. No lies. No agendas. Shoulders, ears, and hearts...the ones who hold you as you meet with Reasons and Seasons--who never leaves. The ones you could not imagine losing, no matter what.
Reason, Season, or Lifetime...can you see who is what? Which one are you to someone?
As you walk your path, do you recognize your Reasons and Seasons as they move in and out of your circle? Can you see when you have been placed into someone's life as their Reason or Season? Acknowledging that we are occasionally not a good Reason or Season--we are human after all. Do you see how the paths meet and then diverge? Reasons and Seasons are not to be kept and clung to...they are lessons to be learned. Some Reasons and Seasons can last for years, but they don't stay forever. Trying to hold onto a Reason or Season is as futile as holding a wave on the beach. When you meet that soul who is a missing piece of your family of the heart, do you rejoice with open heart, and make room in your circle, knowing a Lifetime is a give and take relationship of equals? Can you see the comfort, help, and love of a Lifetime--those rare few you can celebrate and mourn with as long as you walk the earth? Or do you close down, unwilling to reach out to touch your Lifetimes, to create that bond, knowing it requires your 100% openness and honesty? Lifetimes can be lost, becoming Seasons if we fail to nurture. In a quiet moment, reflect, and know that regardless of belief in God or not, Reasons, Seasons, and Lifetimes are real. Once you can see who in your life is what kind, things become much clearer. :) Julie