To My Best Friend

Today marks me knowing my very best friend for exactly six months. This past summer I started a summer job, and never in a million years did I imagine leaving that job with such a great friend. In 184 days my friend and I went from complete strangers to the best of friends. We had an instantaneous friendship that has been inseparable since the day we met. Marking half a year of friendship I decided to dedicate a blog post to my sweetest friend. Six months of friendship; six reasons why I love our friendship!

 

 1. I love that we don't have to act our age. Can you say blanket forts? On multiple occasions. There is something so sweet about having a friend that you can act like a child with. When we are together we don't have to be grown ups, or face the reality of adulthood, we can just let all of our worries fall to the side. From juice boxes to little kid voices. Thank you for bringing out my inner child.

 2. I love that you inspire me in the best way. You have singlehandedly pushed me further than anybody else in my life has been able to in such a short time. You have been such a light. The life you live and the example you set honestly make me want to be a better person.

 3. I love (well, love/hate) that we don't always get to see each other. Don't get me wrong, I do not in any way enjoy not getting to see you any time that I want.  But living further apart makes our hellos even sweeter. I actually like having a friend that is so hard to say goodbye to. And I certainly enjoy always having a reunion to look forward to, even if I don't always know when that time will come.

 4. I love that you walk the talk. You know how hard it has been for me to make and keep friends in the past. And after you're promise to be best friends forever it wasn't all that much for scenarios of the opposite to creep into my head. Luckily, God blessed me with a friend who doesn't just talk the talk. Girl can walk it out (I sure hope you laugh at that as much as I did.)

 5. I love that we love to laugh together. I think it's quiet possible that we can laugh at anything and everything. From the way someone holds their hands on their hips to how a counselor dives into a pool to the same Facebook posts. We don't even have to say a word; one look and we are rolling. It brings me so much joy that I have to say "stop, or I'm gonna pee from laughing so hard" way more than the average person.

 6. I love you. Simple and sweet. I just love the absolute mess out of you. And I am beyond thankful for the 6 months that I've had you in my life.

 

 

I could say so much more, but I will leave it at that. Thank you for six months of laughs, tears, smiles, and memories. I cannot wait to see what the rest of our lives hold for us and our friendship.

 

xoxo

Love That Crosses Galaxies

I went through a stage in my life where I sincerely lived with a "don't cross oceans for someone who wouldn't jump puddles for you" mentality. I thought it made me all the better to dish out to other people what they were serving me. I justified my actions based on a skewed view of the "Golden Rule". I convinced myself that "do unto others as you would like done unto you" really ment "give other people back what they give you." So for months I was hateful to hateful people, and acted out of spite towards people because of their own attitudes. If someone didn't go out of their way to spark a conversation with me, I wouldn't dare go out of my way for them.

 Living with that attitude was detrimental to how I viewed people, and ultimately how other people viewed me. Now the last thing I want is for someone to assume I am a malicious, hateful human being. I like to think I am a little better than that. But that attitude was causing me to live a life that was opposite of my calling. As a Christian, we are called to be (literally) "little christs". Meaning that we need to have his attitude toward ALL people. Young and old, rich and poor, greedy and giving, everyone. No exceptions. When we decide to pick up the cross and follow Christ we sign up for two (seemingly) simple tasks:

• Love God
• Love People

I don't struggle as much with the first one much as I do the second. I am notorious for letting other people actions and attitudes effect my own. Now, Luke 6:31-36 says this: "Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.  And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.  But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

 

To sum this up; I've been living my life with the completely wrong attitude. Opposed to dishing out what I've received in the past, I need to begin giving out what I would want given to me. If God himself lived with my attitude, he would have never sent his Son to die for all of us. He knew when he sent Jesus that there would be many, many people who didn't believe in him, and who would act out of spite towards him. Yet he was still driven by love, and sent the One he loved the most for people who would still deny his name. Now what I have gotten out of Luke 6:31-36 is this: Love like Jesus. Jesus not only saw past racial, social, and gender differences, he also saw past people's attitudes and emotions. Jesus knew people would hurt him mentally, physically, and emotionally for all of his life, yet he still loved  them with the same love of his Heavenly Father.

 

Jesus didn't just cross oceans for people who wouldn't jump over puddles for him. He crossed the galaxies for people who would hurt him, hate him, and hang him on a cross. Jesus walked on water to someone he knew would ultimately deny him three times.

 

So my question is this: What kind of example is that for me? If I am called to love like Jesus does, then puddle jumping versus ocean crossing should be least of my worries. I'm not just called to do to others as I would have them do to me, but I am called to show them a love that they haven't experienced before. This love doesn't just cross oceans, it crosses galaxies. It goes from holding stars to clenching the finger of Mary: from the throne room of God, to a stable in a dusty village. What does your love do?