Some Friends Aren’t Meant To Be In Your Life Forever, But Be Grateful For Them Anyway

Some best friends aren’t meant to be in your life forever.

Oftentimes when we become best friends with someone, we think it’ll last forever. We believe that nothing can come between us, especially if the friendship has lasted for years.

We’ve gone through ups and downs together. Laughed together. Cried with one another. 

We think they’ll be there on our wedding day or when we have kids. We imagine being in an elderly home together, reminiscing about our lives.

We happily post on social media and rejoice when people ask “You two are still friends? That’s amazing!” We wear our friendship like a badge of honor, proving all the naysayers that they were wrong about our friendship ending one day.

But over time, we feel that our friendship has changed. Over time, we stop confiding in one another and find that speaking to each other has started to feel like a chore, not a blessing. 

We notice we’re going in different directions and have different goals, but we’ve already been friends for this long. Do we really want to leave now? What happened to all our happy memories? 

Until one day, we can’t take it anymore and we decide to part ways. At this point, we can feel a range of emotions. 

Fear. Will I ever make another close friend like that again?

Relief. I am so glad that the friendship is no longer draining my energy.

Sadness. Because through it all, at one point, this friendship was one of my greatest treasures. 

Guilt. Was I the problem?

Shame. Because our friendship was supposed to beat the odds and last forever. 

Anger. The betrayal felt by someone who was once your best friend. 

Acceptance. Because certain things leave your life so better things can come. 

At one point, every friendship is exactly what you need at that time in your life. And although we may not fully understand it, some people are only meant to be in certain chapters of your life. And that’s okay. That doesn’t mean these friendships didn’t hold meaning and value. They did. But they’ve run their course, and something better is yet to come.

Thank you to all the friendships in my life, especially the ones that are now over—you’ve taught me some of the most valuable lessons of all.