Friends in Orbit

As I get older, I find myself looking more deeply into the relationships I carry through life. There are those friendships that withstand the fire because they have such a strong history. There are those that are intense, but don't stand the test of time. There are those that simply aren't worth it in the end. There are those that never change. I could go on and on about the types of friendships and their importance in my life, but what I find most intriguing at this point in time are the relationships I like to refer to as "friends in orbit."

These are the people who aren't a day-to-day constant in your life, but when you look at the big picture of your life, they were always present. In my life, they aren't really close friends. They aren't people I often see or even speak to in person, but they are there, waxing and waning through my life cycle.

Sometimes they are closer than normal, and we have constant interaction. Sometimes they are at the farthest point of their "orbit," and I don't think of them or speak to them for months at a time. Sometimes we encounter obstacles, and some of the obstacles we've endured are ones that closer friendships wouldn't survive. Maybe distance is what allows for that.

Either way, I find it interesting how these certain "orbital" friends, though we don't always get along, and we don't necessarily have a closeness worth fighting for, always find their way back around the sun and into the shadows of my life. I'm thankful for them. For whatever reason, they are supposed to be here in these seasons. When my life's last chapter is written, these minor characters from daily life may just turn out to be pivotal in the grand scheme.