Only a Chapter in Your Life

We can learn something from everyone we interact with in life, no matter how brief the encounter. Some people teach us about self-control; others will show us grace. Some people may reflect a character trait in ourselves that we would rather not acknowledge; however, we need to recognize those things about ourselves that need to be restrained and so these difficult ones are a gift to us in the end.

There are those that we hope to plan a future with; we fall in love fast and hard. Sometimes, for any number of reasons, these people do not stay as long as we would like them to. Perhaps, upon closer inspection, we learn that they are not the people that we thought they were. When we look at someone through the eyes of love, we often get a very distorted picture; how many of you have found that to be true?

We question ourselves, wondering what we did wrong and offering to change. But how does one change their heart, the core of their very being? How do you stop being who you really are? It’s an impossible task, I tell you. Just like they can’t stop being who they truly are, and we would be wrong to expect them to, even for love.

Some people come into our lives as blessings, and sometimes blessings are uncomfortable. Those are the blessings that become lessons, but everyone comes into your life for a reason. We have to learn to discern why a person is there, and when their season is over to simply be grateful we had whatever time with them we were given. Don’t count it all loss, find out what it is you learned from the relationship and how you can apply it to your future.

Just because someone doesn’t stay in your life as long as you would’ve liked doesn’t mean they weren’t supposed to be there at all. Some people come only for a season; and some people come for a lifetime. Some people are meant to simply be one chapter in our lives, other people are meant to help us write the entire story. We play a part in every life that we touch just as every person who touches ours plays a part in our story.

The greatest story ever told involved a man who only lived 33 years on this earth and His ministry only lasted the last three years of His life. His story is still impacting lives today, including yours and mine. Whose story will you help write? Will you be a single chapter or will you help complete their book? Don’t despise the time; every moment of every life has meaning. Celebrate it while you can, the good times and the bad. Life is precious and so are you.