A reason, a season, a lifetime

I've heard this saying a handful of times, "The people in our lives are there for a reason, a season or a lifetime." And really up until now, it never seemed deserving of much introspection. Actually, the most thought I gave it was, "Well, that's endearing," or "Who came up with that one- I hoped it help them through their crappy breakup." Oh wait, that was my breakup...I digress... Now, back to the focus of my story. I've wondered why this friend is in my life and previously, had always wondered why fate, God, divine intervention, random circumstance, call it what you will with exception of the last, which I refuse to believe in, had introduced me to this person. Why was I there for them? The simple answer is: I wasn't. It was they who were there for me. I just didn't know it until now and in realizing how much I've grown, because of their influence in my life. Our paths, as of late, have become a road diverged. Hell with the woods, there's only forward, both of us now forced in different directions. All I know is that there has been a reason, there have been several actually. There has been a season, there have been several of these too. Now, my only hope is that as our paths branch own, that our friendship lasts a lifetime.