Reason, Season, or Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you figure out which one it is,
you will know what to do for each person.
When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
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 wrongdoing 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 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 now it is time to move on.
Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They 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;
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,
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.
— Unknown


Thank you, Jamee T., for sending me this today.  I really needed it!  It helps me to sort through a lot of mixed emotions I've been having lately, which is no small task.  


Since Harrison's arrival, I've been getting pretty picky about who is in our lives.  Clearly, drug-addicts, child-abusers and the sort need not apply.  But there is this other gray area that I'm trying to wade through, and I'm not sure where to draw the line.  Sadly, even family is included in the gray, and it breaks my heart.  For them, more than for myself, but most of all, for Harrison.  He is such a wonderful baby and his personality is really starting to shine through and there are people who simply are not interested, and it's sad to me. They are missing out on so much and there are no re-do's.  I've been reaching out to the people that I feel should be, need to be, or I thought would want to be a part of his life and I'm really surprised at some of the results.  There are people in my own family who will never even meet him, and others who will only meet him once.  I'm not talking about distant relatives either.  No, "distant" would never describe someone who grew up in the same house as you, now would it?  As far as friends go, I've never expected my baby to become the center of anyone else's universe - you'd only get in my way, anyway.  But the feeling of being shut out?  Not something I expected.  


So lately, I'm a little hurt and wanting to react, but trying not to.  I'm not ready to end any friendships over it.  But I guess what I am ready to do is start figuring out which category people fall into and reset my expectations accordingly.  


In the meantime, my very best friends are living under my own roof, which is more than I could ever ask for anyway.