Friends

Sometimes, I tend to float through life without taking much stock in what a tremendous blessing and resource the Lord has given to me. So for today, it is needed to take a little time and a little space here to just say thank you to some of the insanely special friends I've been given. Please do not be upset if you are a friend of mine and aren't mentioned here. God has put so many wonderful people in my life, I simply couldn't list them all here! These are, however, a few that have been on my heart recently and are some of the nearest and dearest!
                                                                              
Esther: You are my heart, my sister, my always and forever best. It's crazy to think so much time has passed since we've been in close proximity but somehow it doesn't matter how far apart we are, we still know each other like the back of our own hands. After all, you know me better than I know myself most days. There are hardly any memories I have of growing up that don't have you in them and I look back at our times as some of the most precious things I've ever had. I do so love you and look forward to seeing you super soon!

Serah Leigh: There isn't a day that goes by that I don't giggle over something we've done, something you've said, or get a reminder that I miss you fiercely. You are my smile, my joy, and you are forever that little voice of blatant honesty that always brings me back to reality. I'm so glad we ended up being at school for a semester together, I feel like I know you so much better after having shared that experience and those memories only make me love and miss you more. I don't think I've ever told you how much I really miss you being here with me. Keeping smiling like only you can. I love you, Portie, and can't wait until we can just laugh together again in person.

Crazy-Ann: Sometimes it still baffles me how wonderfully good God was to put a kindred spirit such as yourself in my life. It doesn't seem so long ago that we were at school together and even now I smile thinking of the times we shared. How precious it is to have a friend to just pour out my heart to and know that you understand and will always bring the solution and the glory back to our Saviour. I am so so thankful for your presence, wisdom, and comfort when I came down to visit your Honduras. You mean so much to me, Ann, and I have no doubt that no matter how much time or contact passes between our visits and chats, that we will always remain kindred friends.

Emilee Jayde: There is no one in the world quite like you and it's so sweet to have you as my friend. I think of you so often and I am so proud of you for standing up for what you know to be right and for following through with everything the Lord has given you to do. You have a such a tender heart for the Lord that is mingled with the resilience to stick to it and I so admire that in you! Sometimes I even hear that accent of yours when I think of you and it never fails to bring a smile to my face. I only wish we could spend more time together but maybe someday soon! Love you, Emmy!

Sarah H: You are such an example to me and I'm so thankful for our friendship! Not to mention almost every day I miss you being here in Ohio with me. Sometimes I want to just open my closet and find you rummaging through for a new outfit. It's so amazing to see you just take off right where God has placed you and I can only pray for the same good attitude and consistency that you exemplify! You never fail to pour out your heart, resources, and talents into anything the Lord gives you and I know He is honored through you in so so many ways. Thanks for being for there me this summer, you've helped me more than you can ever know.

Katelyn, Bruce, and Russell: Don't any of you get a big-head because you're on here! There are few in this world who can sit for hours debating and arguing about anything and everything and yet still be such jolly good friends like we are...and like we do. I truly am so grateful that the three of you are with me at school right now and that we've pulled together. Thank you for your accountability, the discussions we so frequently have and enjoy, and for simply loving God and desperately wanting to serve Him like you do. Despite popular belief, you guys are great. Let's do Starbucks sometime again soon.

To all my other friends and followers, thank you too! So often you are in my thoughts and in my prayers.

And you know what? God simply gave me the best friends a girl could ever ask for!

Waiting

The realization has come that I am quite ridiculous. So often I find myself acting like an impatient child saying, "God, are we there yet?" Along with so many other Christians, I am always wanting to know the immediate next step and every five steps to follow in search of this elusive mystery we call the will of God.

As I sat there fumbling through my plans for life with the Bible in one hand, a Spurgeon book in the other, and a mind full of impatient questionings, it hit me that I'm wasting away this portion of what God has for my life right now. Why do I fret about what I do not know? Why do I worry over a future that my Lord has in His wisdom hidden just beyond sight?

Speaking of sight, the passage of Scripture that surfaced all of the evidence of my patience, or lack thereof, deals with the beloved apostle Paul. On his way to Damascus, Christ called him out and changed his life forever. Paul was commanded, "Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do." How silly it would have been if Paul had said, "Okay, God...but could you just maybe give me a hint of what I'm supposed to do after that?" Paul's instruction was to go into the city and there wait for further instruction. He wasn't told how long he would have to wait or what general "field" he was being called into. To add to the matter, Paul's eyesight was stricken from him but we find no evidence of arguments or pleadings for understanding. Instead, we discover that Paul went ahead to the city and was "three days without sight" when God gave him his next step.

What am I trying to say? Basically, God does the same thing in every believer's life. For myself, being here at college is my time to "go into the city" and wait on the Lord. What is so wrong with just letting God be God and trust that He will reveal what He wills in His timing? Why must we always strive to have all the answers and plans when in all reality, we are His, so the when and where and how is all His business anyway.

So it has become my prayer that while I'm waiting, to soak up everything this section of my life has to offer. May I stop wishing away this precious last year here and focus on what the Saviour has to teach me in this stage of uncertainty and wishy-washy dreams and desires. Like David, I ask of God, "Teach me to do Thy will; for Thou art my God: Thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness."

Sparrows

There is just something about fall that makes all things reminiscent. I both love and hate the memories the cooler days conjure up. Sometimes I wish I could organize those memories into tidy little packages and store them up for when I want to revisit them, or for when I’m ready to face them. Autumn always makes me feel so wishful, perhaps even more so this year.

College life has returned full-swing and with all it's normal frustrations, things to learn, and experiences. I've been struggling for the past few weeks to summon up something to share here for I truly loathe to write about just every day happenings. The day-in and day-out comings and goings of my life sometimes feel so insignificant and there seems no sense in sharing such boring things. I came to the realization that despite my apathy towards the "normal", God cares about those "small" or "insignificant" things more than we can ever realize.

Those whispered words of thanks to the Heavenly Father, the songs that we hum while carrying out our tasks, the thoughts we think towards those who surround us...all of those matter greatly to Him! I do so adore the passage: "Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows."

If my God cares about the insignificant little birds, how much more does He think on the quiet meditations of His childrens' hearts? With that in mind, "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."