Grow, Written By Libbie Shaffer I’m a small town girl preparing to move to the big city. I love coffee and Jesus. I read a lot of books and I’m a full-time nanny.
Every time I think of growth I think of flowers. I always get this mental image of a flower growing, blooming from a tiny bud into a beautiful flower. And sometimes, I think of life like a flower, constantly growing, blooming, becoming more and more beautiful with each passing day.
I don’t recall if I read it, or heard it, or if it simply popped into my head one day. But it constantly comes to my mind. These six words, although they seem so simple they hold so much weight.
“Y O U A R E A L L O W E D T O O U T G R O W P E O P L E .”
You are allowed to outgrow people. Those words are constantly rushing through my head, reminding me that it’s okay to not be in someone’s life anymore, for no reason other than you’re simply not on the same path anymore. At one point in life we were on paths that happened to cross, and maybe those roads stayed connected for a while, but most of the time we take different turns and our lives end up on different paths.
Maybe one day our paths will cross again, but maybe they won’t. And I either way I will be glad for the time I have had with you.
Sometimes – or actually all the time – it’s hard to let people go. No matter what the reason, whether it’s what’s best for you or for them, it hurts, and it’s tough. But sometimes we just have to do it.
It’s hard to make the decision to let someone go. Especially when they haven’t necessarily done anything wrong, you’re simply living different lives and you can no longer serve the purposes you once did in each others lives.
I’ve always known friendships don’t last forever, but it never seems to get easier when they end. I may sound like a horrible person for saying this, but as I get closer to moving away, the more I realize how many people I have outgrown, I still love them, we are just no longer walking down the same path. Soon I’ll be making new friends, friends who are on the same path as me, people who will walk alongside me.
You’re allowed to outgrow people, and sometimes they won’t understand when you do. And you can’t make them understand. All you can do is hope and pray that one day they will understand why. But please don’t ever be afraid to grow, even if that means letting go.
Pastor Dewey Note: I want to thank Libbie for sharing with us! I got a lot out of this post on friendships and I am sure you did also! Libbie is the daughter of Pastor Brandon and Tara Shaffer of Valley View Christian Church in Edgewood, NM. Her Grandparents are very familiar to many of our readers here at FGGAM, Pastor Leonard and Diana Navarre also on Valley View.
