I
called my dear friend Alden the other day and I told Him that I had felt kind
of lonely this summer b/c I have always been so used to having that best friend
who I could always stop by his/her house and talk to about God for hours or
open our bibles together and get lost in the word. And this summer, especially
since I got accepted to go on the World Race, I feel like I have not had any
deep relationships with anyone. It has honestly been a pretty lonely
time..however, this time has allowed me to personally grow in Christ. God has
been revealing to me that it is not these human relationships that ultimately
matter..it is my personal relationship with Christ that does.
Alden
reminded me of the story of Elijah and Elisha and how right before Elijah was
going to be taken up to heaven, He asked what He could do for Elisha before He
was to be taken. Elisha asked to receive a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. It
reminded me of the time spent with Alden and Jay [two of my closest friends
here in Hawaii] and how they have encouraged me so much in my walk with God
throughout the past year. When I first found out that they were going to be
moving to Cali to go to bible college, my flesh was really sad, but my heart
was ecstatic! How awesome to know what you are being called to do and to not
hesitate but to obediently follow God! I told Alden that I already miss them
and it saddens me to think that they might have only been put in my life for
that specific time and season and may never be brought back in, but I have
found such peace in knowing that God brought both of them into my life for a
specific reason. And like Elisha, I feel like they are leaving me with
spiritual knowledge and a hunger and thirst to just fall more and more in love
with God. I take great joy in knowing that the knowledge and wisdom that they
poured into my life will be carried on in my heart and will continue to
strengthen my relationship with the Lord.
I have seen the glory of God revealed over and
over in the lives of these two young gentlemen. Last semester, they both felt
God calling them to move to California to attend bible college. And ever since
the day they felt God calling them to do His will, they have continually been
obedient to all that God has asked of them in preparation for their journey. At
the time, it was awesome to see their obedience and God’s faithfulness to them
and to see how He was blessing them in return. But I told Alden that looking
back on all of it now has been an even greater encouragement to me at this
particular moment in my life. Because now I fully understand what it is like to
have God calling me to do His will, to call me out of my comfort zone, to call
me to something so big…everything that God had been calling them to do! And
knowing that God is pleased with our
complete dependence and obedience to Him is a joy like no other. I remember
when Jay and Alden started selling everything and just doing all these “crazy-awesome”
things in order to prepare for the life that God was calling them to! And I started
laughing b/c I was getting rid of tons of clothes as I was talking to Alden on
the phone and told him I was following in their footsteps and going crazy
getting rid of everything!
It
was so uplifting to be able to share my joy in my calling with someone who
fully gets it…someone who is experiencing that same joy and who is living the
life that they are called to live because they know that it is of God and that
there isn’t a greater joy in this world than to serve God and to fulfill His
will for our lives so that His glory may continue to be revealed.
Thanks
Alden for always sharing your genuine heart and your encouraging words with me.
I will surely miss you, but I am so excited for you to go out there to share
your heart with so many more people who will hopefully be as encouraged, if not
more, as you’ve encouraged me!
