Sometimes we need to let a relationship go. Letting go of someone doesn’t mean we’ve stopped loving them; it just means the relationship isn’t the right one for us. How should we handle it? 1) A gradual separation is sometimes the best way forward. There are relationships we need to get out of for our own good, but that doesn’t always mean we have to be suddenly and completely cut off from the other person. (However, if you’re in a relationship that makes you feel at risk or in danger, it’s best to seek help and often to get out of it as quickly as possible. Don’t put yourself at risk.) Dissolving a relationship is stressful, so we need to try and end it graciously. A good place to start might be to agree on a phone call or an email a couple of times a week. 2) Don’t keep going back. We might try to be kind and keep going back, doubting and re-evaluating our decision to end the relationship in its current form. Often people will come back to entice us by suggesting we were wrong the first time round. That’s why we must resolve any doubts before we make the decision. If we find ourselves in a pattern of going back to old, unhealthy relationships, it might be that we’re trying to fill an emptiness in our heart that only God can fill. When Jesus met the woman at the well, she had been through five failed marriages and was living with man number six. He told her: ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give will never be thirsty. The water I give will become a spring of water gushing up inside that person, giving eternal life’ (John 4:13-14 NCV).

What Now?

Ending a relationship can be painful and difficult, so if you know there’s a friendship you need to let go, chat with God first and let His wisdom guide the way you handle it.