The power and beauty of prayer is a powerful thing as I said in my first and second blog of this series. I just spent the evening at my last Monday night girls fellowship of the year. My friends and I took the this time to pray for each other individually and as a group. Today my heart is happy and thankful. As we prayed out loud, my heart had a million others things that needed to be said. So here it is. Enjoy.
My first year of college is coming to an end. 2 days to be exact. 2 days until I leave the place that I have fallen in love with. 2 days from leaving the place I now call home. It's not forever, in fact, in four short months I will back full of excitement for the year Jesus is going to bring. But for now, I'm learning that is okay to be sad. It has to be okay. My heart is cracking, yet it is so thankful and full of hope. Hope that as I leave, my friendships will not. Every woman of God needs Godly friends, so let me tell you about mine.
Coming into my first my year of college I had no expectations at all. I was excited to meet some friends, get involved and just have fun. Never in a million years did I think that Jesus would bring me friends who would be such a big part of my life. My mom always told me that my dad and her had been praying for my roommate and friends for years and years and when I entered high school I decided to do the same. As high school went on I had a couple awesome friends but that was the end of it. I went to camp every summer in between years and met beautiful people, but even many of those friendships were for short periods of time and others are still long distance and sporadic. You can see where this is going can't you? Well, naturally I came to college with the attitude that there would be a couple close friends, but we would part ways eventually. Turns out I was completely wrong.
Never in my life have I experienced so much grace, acceptance and love in this group of women I now call my best friends. I found a group where I can go to take refuge; where we can all go to take refuge in Him. I found a place that is full of wisdom, truth and integrity; where honesty is always, in every circumstance, the best policy. Most importantly, I have found a place where the desire to be a better person in Jesus is always encouraged. As I look at my friends, I see Jesus in them. The way that Jesus calls us to love and forgive in reflected in their lives each and everyday. Their attitudes for their futures, although unsure at times, are always followed by a faith that seems so unshakable. Grace and mercy are overflowing in their words, actions and prayers towards me and others each and every day. Jesus is alive, present to the core of their beings. The love they show to me is the kind Jesus calls us all to share, and for that I am humbled.
Right now I am heart broken to be done with the best year of my life. However I keep reminding myself that it is not the kind of heartbreak that I cannot recover from; instead its the kind that reassures me that I have been given such precious blessings that I never want to take for granted. It is in these moments that I am reminded of how much my Savior truly knows me better than anyone else. He knows and hears my thoughts, needs and prayers even before I think or say them. Take this time to sit and be thankful for those friends that encourage and uplift you. Then write them a letter, letting them know just how much you love them. Pray that Jesus will bring people into your life (if he hasn't already) that will show you to love as he has loved us because it is the most beautiful gift in the world.
"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy or art...it has no survival value; rather is is one of those things that gives value to survival." -C.S Lewis
Today I am thankful.
In Christ,
Taler Ray
Another great post Taler
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