Ever since I was little, I always had a best friend. My best friend at church, my best friend at school, my best friend at tennis camp, my best friend in choir. Once in high school, my best friend became my boyfriend. No matter what stage of life I was in, I always had to have that one person that I was closest to, one person that I could always confide in.
As I was reading back in my journal, I noticed that my prayer on the first day in the Philippines was this: “Help me to only be focused on pleasing You, my Lord and Savior. You will be my closest companion this year, the One I run to first, and I pray it will be that way the rest of my life.”
From the first day of the World Race, I knew that God wanted to teach me that He was capable of being my best friend.
On the first two teams I was on, I never had one person I could always count on to be there for me. I searched for a best friend because it was what I had always known, but I never found one. When I allowed myself time to reflect on the friendships I had formed on the Race, I would get discouraged that I still hadn’t found that one close friend.
This past month in Ukraine, I finally encountered God as my best friend. I had always known that He could be, but this month I actually experienced it.
One of the first nights at my team’s ministry site, I went to bed longing to have some girl talk. Instead of providing an opportunity to talk to someone the next day, God gave me a dream about the topics that had been on my heart.
In the morning when I was thanking Him for the dream, the Holy Spirit spoke to me: “I am everything, Amy. I can fulfill all your needs that come from being around people. Don’t you see that I love you? That I’m always here. I never leave you. Other people come in and out of your life. They will fail you everyday. Remember that I have never failed you. I love you so much! I care about you.” As I continued talking to God, a butterfly came and circled around my head, and a few minutes later another one came and circled around my ankles.
Several days later, I climbed a 1400 meter mountain with the three guys from my team and Denis, our Ukrainian translator. It took us 2.5 hours to reach the top. Denis told me that whenever he’s hiked with girls previously, it’s taken an extra hour (this gives you an idea of the crazy pace we were going!).
About a third of the way up, I was panting and sweating and wondering why the heck I decided to hike with four men. Whenever I was about to give up mentally, God sent me random butterflies to remind me of His love. While Denis was focused on racing to the top, I focused on the creation around me by picking some good smellin’ flowers and sniffing them every time my legs felt like they were going to fall off.
There were several times this month when frustration started to overrule my love for people in the church because of legalism. I knew that some of my teammates were feeling the same way. One morning as I was praying about this matter, God spoke to me through Romans 14 and reminded me to act in love towards the people Christ died for. The Lord counseled me, allowed me to see my pride, and gave me wisdom in knowing how to deal with people.
My team worked with two camps the second half of the month. God gave me the opportunity to counsel a small group of 8 and 9 year old girls. Because God knows how much I enjoy physical touch, these girls showered me with hugs and kisses on the cheek every time they saw me throughout each day. I felt so loved!
In addition to all this, I got to enjoy God’s gorgeous creation the entire month. Mountains, caves, rivers, waterfalls, woods, pink and orange sunsets, the Black Sea, jellyfish, and the list goes on!
At one point during the month, my teammate Brian got baptized in the Black Sea. That night began with us sitting on the pier, listening to the waves, and enjoying each other’s company. Once the sun set, we watched the moon rise over the water (and saw dolphins swimming in the moonlight) and then watched an entire lunar eclipse right before our eyes! We worshipped God through singing and dancing under the blanket of stars. Incredible.
So. This month I learned to see God as my closest friend. I learned that He’s the most exciting, the most creative, the most wise, the most fun, the most powerful, and the most loving Being of all. No one compares with Him, and no one will ever be able to measure up to His greatness.
Searching for my identity in friendships is pointless. Searching for security in other people is useless.
He gives me confidence. He is my identity. He gives me authority to bring Heaven to earth. He gives me joy and strength to live out each day. He makes me fall in love with Him over and over again. He floods me with peace because I can rest assured that He will always be my best friend. He will never leave, He will never love me less, and He has already paid the price of my life.
