Friendship.

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

    This post is a little preemptive. Two of my close friends are coming to Colorado for a visit in the next month and one is here, home on Christmas break. I am so.excited. to go on adventures with them in one of the greatest places to have adventures! I’m excited to laugh at memories and to make new ones. But most of all, I’m excited for the constant feeling of being hugged when we’re together. Not in the touchy-feely kind of way. But in the way that frees someone to be exactly who they are, because the other person has seen you at your best and worst and chose to love and accept you through it all.

   I came across the Winnie the Pooh quote today and was reminded of what a GIFT from heaven a deep friendship is. I am lucky to have a handful of people in my life who love me for me. Who are running the same race at the same pace I am. How precious it is to know that someone wants to be about the same things you do. How invaluable it is to have people who help you remember when you forget.

    This morning, I listened to a sermon about the Kingdom of God. The speaker reminded us that things like bodily healing, our relationship with the Lord, and seeing justice accomplished here on this earth, is a reflection of eternity. Friendships and “every good and perfect gift is from above,” (James 1:17)– they are a reflection of things to come. Oh what a blessing it is to have things in life that are so good and so filling that they leave you longing for eternity with Him!

    Thank you Jesus for the gift of a spiritual family. Thank you for friends, new and old, who come alongside and run this race of life. They encourage, uplift, and challenge. They reflect an eternity spent in your presence and in constant fellowship with one another.

    Happy New Year! I pray that the year ahead is full of blessings for you!

From the Dust

   All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

- “Beautiful Things” by Gungor

   I recently read a book about desert seasons. There are lots of books out there about those times in life, yes, I know. But this one was very different for me.

 I wasn’t in a desert season of my life when I read it. Therefore, I was able to remove my own emotions from the picture (for once!) and take it in not as a lifeline but as something to put in my back pocket for when I would need it. Second, it was based on a story from the Bible, not on topics or the step progression of grief. The author walked through the Israelites journey through their 40 years in the desert. It opened my eyes to the power of reading Bible stories.  While I read the book, the characters came to life- their emotions, their sin, their actions, their relationships with one another. It came alive- much like a good fiction novelist will tie you (the reader) to the characters in the book, I noticed the ties I had to the Israelites. It started to change how I read my Bible.

   So, here I am. In a desert of my life. One filled by preparation and prayer. I spend my time waiting and praying and trying out new things to see if maybe, just maybe, it will lead to something more substantial. But I’m realizing that God is more interested in shaping this pot than using it. Just like He was interested in letting the Israelites wander for 40 years so they could be shaped by Him. The Gospel is simple. Our mission as Believer’s is simple. To love God- by bringing glory to His name, walking in obedience, and seeking Him whole-heartedly. And to love others- by being a part of their lives and pointing them to the one who has changed us. I’m drawn to those Old Testament and Gospel stories because they are about real people, learning how to simplify their lives to the point of dependence and obedience as well.  So the Lord is simplifying my life in a desert, where my dependence relies on Him and where I pray He is making beautiful things out of the dust from the desert ground.