Secret Angels

Day 53

“People come into your path for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you figure out which one it is, you will know what to do with each person.”

– Unknown

It’s my best friend’s birthday today and it got me thinking. You can be going about your life, and then you meet someone new and they become an integral part of your life. All of a sudden, you can’t imagine how your life was before you met them. It reminded me of this poem by an unknown author:

When someone is in your life for a reason it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty.
To provide you with guidance and support.
To aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like they are a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then without any wrongdoing on your part, or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die.
Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled.
Their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has now been answered and now it is time to move on.

One particular person stands out in my mind who showed up for a reason in my life. I was selling my home and needed a handyman to do a lot of work, fast and cheap. I don’t even remember how I found this guy, but he showed up, gave me a flat rate price to do all the work for a ridiculously small amount of money. He faithfully showed up everyday for 2 weeks with a crew of 6 men to do the work that was worth at least ten times what he asked for, and he did even more than he was supposed to, because he wanted to. I needed all the work complete in 2 weeks so it’d be ready for my open house, and it was done on time. The handyman was supposed to come by for the last time the morning of the open house to pick up his tools and personal items, but he never came. His phone number stopped working, and I never heard from him or his crew again. I got an offer that day, and sold the house for my asking price, hassle-free. To this day, I believe that he was an angel sent from above to help me sell my house.

Some people come into your life for a season.
Because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.

This is the category for my first love and good friends who have gone their own ways, like high school friends and college roommates. Sometimes, they even come back for more than one season. Each experience brought me joy, laughter, love and maybe a lesson or a skill that stayed with me. These people weren’t meant to stay with me throughout my whole journey, and yet they helped to shape it. These are the people you look back at with fond memories as you reminisce about the good old days.

Lifetime relationships teach you lifetime lessons.
Things you must build upon to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind, but friendship is clairvoyant.

These are the ones who stay the course, like my best friends and family. My dad always used to say “your true friends are the people who you don’t have to talk to every day, but when you need something, they’re always there for you.” These are the people who offer support in times of need, and they’re also the ones who tell you when you’re off course. They help you navigate your path, and hold up a mirror when you can’t see your way anymore.

Thank you for being a part of my life.
Whether you were a reason, a season or a lifetime

Thank you, thank you, thank you!