Don't Feel Bad

How many of you still have the same best friend from childhood? I’m talking about from your “wonder bread” years. If you’re like most people, you probably had a number of close friendships and some were more significant than others. You may have moved or changed schools and had to establish new friends and social relationships each time you relocated. Maybe you stayed in one place but your closest friends moved away. Some people you may have simply outgrown, and when you did, you made new friends who shared your new interests. The bonds that you established in childhood and how you’ve been able to maintain them depend on your own personality.

As we mature, we find that we don’t like the same things at 12 that we liked at five; or at 16 that we liked at 12; or 25 that we liked at 16. We can still like people, but not want to spend a lot of time with them because our interests have simply changed. Sometimes our taste in food or music will change, or movies or even hobbies. It’s part of life; it’s part of maturing. You don’t find out what you really like until you try different things. If you only do what’s familiar and what everybody else is doing, you never really find out who you are.

Everyone has an option to mature, but not everyone chooses to. The point is, we can’t choose to be like Peter Pan and refuse to grow up just because we don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings. And we can’t force other people to grow up to accommodate us. There’s a time and a season for everything and for everyone. People come into your life for a season and a reason. Enjoy the season while people are in your life and learn the reason. Sometimes the reason is to teach us and to further our growth. But know this: Not every lesson is worth repeating.