I truly did have the best intentions to escape from the hectic occurrences that consumed my life the past few weeks to blog, but to no avail. But, as one of my favorite quotes so wonderfully puts it, “The best laid plans of Mice and Men often go awry”. (In actuality, this quote is the implied title of the book Of Mice and Men but it originally comes from a Robert Burns Poem To a Mouse, that says “The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley” ok enough literature trivia) Anyway, I truly cannot put into words the full extent to which the Lord has been at work in my life, or recount all of his merciful blessings, but with the next few minutes of my time, I shall certainly try.
First and foremost, I have come to understand more fully the wonderful blessing of friendships. I am so blessed to have numerous people in my life that constantly remind my of the goodness of God, hold me accountable in my actions, and pray with me over specific areas of my life. Its funny, as I moved yet again to a new state (but this time completely on my own) I wondered how I would keep up existing friendships and also establish new ones. One such relationship is with a dear woman of God named Evie. You know how there are certain people you can just sense the very presence and joy of the Lord when you are around them, well, she is certainly that person. Its crazy to think that I have only known her for not quite a year because I feel like we have been lifelong friends. She is the kind of person I know God is going to use in mighty ways, and I truly cannot wait to see how all of that unfolds. Anyway, over the past few months, the two of us have kept in contact via email. In these messages, we have poured out our struggles, our praises, and our prayer requests to one another and encouraged each other by showing how the Lord is so greatly at work in our life. Sometimes, I wonder if this is what Paul must have felt like as he wrote to the Corinthians and told of the wonderful work of the Lord and encouraged them greatly in their faith. Because that is precisely what these messages do for me. God has also given me wonderful friends at Union that I could truly write a novel on. They are some of the best people on the planet. They make me smile and laugh the entire time we are together, but they are people I can call at any time and just talk to about life. We share a common addiction to coffee that inevitably draws us each to the tables of starbucks where we share life together. (I really think if Starbucks were wise, they would use us in a commercial or advertisement: Starbucks, bringing people together one coffee cup at a time. ok that might be a little conceited.) I talk about these beautiful people all the time at college and although I cannot see them as much as Id like, I am forever grateful for their presence and friendship in my life. Since I have written a previous entry about the people God has brought into my life at Samford, Ill try not to repeat it all. But it is so neat to me how friendships form, how God places certain people in your path to encourage you and challenge you for that day. Its funny to me that although we have one of the smallest rooms on our hall, it always seems to be filled with people. On nights like tonight, I am so thankful to live on a hall with such wonderful girls. My roommate and I joked that we should play a game to guess who might be knocking on the door or how many people might come in. Tonight’s total: Seven (7 awesome people that provided the best distraction to my Spanish homework). This is truly my favorite time of the day. Its neat to see who will walk in our humble abode and what conversations will ensue. Last night, I had a lovely 2 hour conversation with my neighbor about God’s awesome plan for our future, relationships, and what God is teaching us in our life, and it all started with a simple request to borrow a season of our Friends DVD. Tonight was a lovely mix of people coming in to cheer for the Cardinals (or Rangers in some cases), to ask questions about classes, to randomly pop in and visit, and to share how God had answered prayer. Its these very nights that continue to confirm why I am at Samford, as I drift off to sleep with my heart overflowing with encouragement and joy. As cheesy as it sounds, we are a community that shares life together (the good times and hard times) and I am loving every minute of it. I have decided if God ever gives me a chance to write a book, Ill include all of these wonderful people in it.
Secondly, I am realizing what it means to Abide in Christ. In church Sunday Morning, Pastor Platt mentioned a verse that resonated with him this past week as he experienced hardships that says “Just as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Now, abide in me”. So often I just read the first part of that verse. And although it is so important to realize the depth of the father’s love, I have come to see the equal importance on the second part, that we must come to the throne boldly, not lacking confidence, and abide in the Lord. How awesome it is so to know we serve a God who not only loves us, but truly wants to spend time with us.
Lastly, (and then I promise to end this ridiculously long blog) God has shown me the beauty and purpose of singleness. You know how it is often said that marriages are a picture of the Love of Christ to his bride (the church..aka US). I agree with that 100 %, but God also revealed to me that it is also symbolic in our singleness. As a Christian, we are called to prepare ourselves daily, sacrificing our desires for those of God's, and it may mean walking in times of extreme loneliness as we leave as foreigners to the things of the world. For God never promised it to be easy. But we are called to live intentionally and seek the plans of the Lord (not sitting idly) until the second coming of our Bridegroom when we are called into heaven (what a glorious day that will be). In the same way, as a single girl, I am supposed to prepare myself for my future groom that will be brought into my life when the Lord (in his perfect timing) decides it. I am not supposed to sit idly waiting for a man to waltz into my life or try and take matters into my own hands, but I am supposed to use this time and season to follow boldly after the Lord with every fiber of my being to work according to his purpose. I need to be so caught up in following him and making his glory and love known that when He places a guy into my life, it is someone that will serve as a partner and that will come alongside me. Not someone I have to constantly be on the lookout for. Im sorry this sounds like an excerpt from a singles book, that’s not my intent really. I truly was just encouraged by this observation and it seemed like a good thing to share. As I have discussed this concept with several people, it has been interesting to see that they are learning the same things. I truly am amazed at the way in which God has placed people into my life that have sharpened my faith, and it is my prayer that I can do the same for others. Until next time.
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