Hi guys and welcome back for day five of gratitude week. I am so thankful to God to be this far in such a busy time in my life. Without further ado, I want to express my gratitude to God for helping me to grow through a painful experience. There has been quite a number of experiences that I could write about, but today I want to share how I grew through the ending of a friendship that I once cherished many years ago.

Follow me back to the early 2000’s where N’Sync is on every teenage girl’s CD player and Destiney’s Child has everyone saying their name. These were the days I thought the friends I had then, would be the friends I’d have now. Nobody could tell me otherwise! It wasn’t a huge friend group and within that group, I had a best friend. She and I were so close that people thought we were actual sisters. We vowed to be there for each other no matter what. That meant there wouldn’t be a birthday missed and we’d be right by each other’s husband’s in that delivery room. Who would hold the maid or matron of honor position would have went without saying…until life happened. That’s the thing with life, people change.

People change and what used to be an unbreakable bond starts to acquire some cracks. When you have too many cracks in a friendship, rest assure there will be some shattering taking place shortly after. That’s exactly what happened for us. At least that is how I experienced it. The ending of our friendship was so heart breaking for me. Even to this day, I get a bit emotional thinking about it. Reminiscing on how things could’ve been and how I have went through major life milestones without her by my side. What I can say is that this experience as hurtful as it was, introduced to me what sisterhood looks like as an adult. There were some non-negotiables that I accepted as a teenager that I no longer wanted to be associated with as a young adult. God was maturing me at a rate she was not ready to reciprocate. Of course, the friendship wasn’t all bad because no person is all bad.

However, there were some things I noticed I actually do not have to deal with from a friend. After much prayer and constant forgiveness for the same thing over and over and over again, I finally said enough. This can’t continue – we can’t be friends. The door was always open and still is to restore what once was, but the boundaries remain. This experience helped to understand that boundaries in friendship matter. It helped me recognize that I can’t bend over backwards to the point of me doing myself a disservice. I am thankful for the friendships that remained and the additional ones that I have gained since the loss in this sisterhood. God continues to show me that an ending of a thing does not have to be the ending of my hope, joy, or life for that matter. Yes, the experience was painful, but it wasn’t to my demise and for that I am grateful! Thanks Dad!

Heavenly Father, thank You for showing me how to grow within a friendship and how to exit when it is no longer fruitful. Thank You for the sisters You have given me over the years. Despite the hurt that I experienced, You allowed me to trust, love, and open myself up again. Thanks Dad for mending my heart and strengthening my faith in You through all of this in Jesus Name, amen!

The party doesn’t stop here! Be sure to check out my correlating YouTube post for more of gratitude week!