There can never be an ounce of bitterness toward someone who made me so much better. I’ve come to understand that not everything beautiful is meant to last forever. Every relationship eventually comes to an end. Some end in heartbreak, some in goodbye, and the fortunate ones end with two people who kept choosing each other until death made that choice for them. But I’ve also learned that just because something ended doesn’t mean it failed. Sometimes the greatest love stories aren’t measured by how long two people stayed together, but by who they became because their paths crossed. I wish I could have been her person. I wish the man I am becoming today could have been the man she experienced yesterday. But I cannot rewrite our history, and I refuse to let regret rob me of gratitude. Because of her, I discovered a depth of love I didn’t know I was capable of giving or receiving. She opened my eyes to what love could look like, what a family could feel like, and what kind of man I wanted to become. She became a catalyst for changes in my life that I once believed were impossible. Her presence helped set in motion a journey that eventually led me to freedom from drugs and alcohol, and ultimately back into a relationship with Jesus Christ. And while I give God the glory for my transformation, I will never diminish the significance of the person He used to help awaken something inside me. I don’t have to be bitter that I wasn’t her forever to be grateful that she was part of my becoming. I can miss what we had without resenting what we lost. I can wish things had ended differently without wishing they had never happened. And I can love the person I am today while acknowledging someone who helped me see the possibility of becoming him. Maybe we weren’t meant to spend forever together. But that doesn’t mean what we shared won’t impact me forever. I wish I could have been her person. But I’ll spend the rest of my life being grateful that, for a season, she was mine. #Love #RadicalMovement #growth #blessed - @lipsinging_jaron.lyle