Loved and Lost

There have been many times I have loved and lost.

I have loved with my whole heart and still watched relationships end.

Some were seasons. Some were lessons. Some were painful re-directions I did not understand at the time.

There were times I walked away in the wrong.

Times I walked away after being wronged.

Times I walked away in the wrong way.

And more than once I tried to go back.

Repair. Restore. Repent.

Yet separation remained.

For a long time I thought endings meant failure.

Now I understand something differently.

Sometimes God is making room.

Friend, do not be troubled when things end.

Do not panic when people leave.

Do not confuse separation with abandonment.

God may be creating space for a beginning you cannot see yet.

I could never be where I am today if I stayed in the comforts of my past.

Not everyone is traveling in the same direction at the same time.

And that is okay.

Make peace with it.

Because sometimes it is difficult to change direction while walking beside people who are headed somewhere else.

Not bad people.

Not bad places.

Just places and people not assigned to the next part of your journey.

Many relationships could have kept me from God’s destiny.

Good relationships.

Good places.

But sometimes good is not God’s best.

And I still love the people and places God moved me from.

I miss some of them too.

But distance does not always mean rejection.

Sometimes it means re-direction.

Some of God’s greatest blessings in my life came after I surrendered what I did not want to lose.

The older I get, the smoother change has become.

The fork in the road feels less frightening.

Communication improves.

Less division.

More peace.

God has given us a beautiful journey and I want to enjoy who He has placed beside me and where He has planted my feet.

God is in control.

I love Him.

I trust Him.

I fear Him.

And I am learning this:

Everything I truly need is found in Him.

So here is a hug and a prayer for anyone grieving separation while God is moving you from your comfort zone into His will.

Hold on.

He may not be taking something from you.

He may be making room.