This month, my team and I are in Romania (AKA “the homeland”). My wonderful friend and squad mate John wrote a blog post for me! This is what he has to say about me from his point of view this year. Please read below!
I can’t express in words how much I enjoy writing blogs in commemoration of people who have inspired me on the race. As I was praying about who to write about next, I knew I needed to write one about my brother Andrew Galea. There are few people in my life that have inspired me to love people more intentionally and to seek to hear the Lords voice more clearly than this righteous man of God.
As I reflect on the first 4 months of the world race when I had the honor of being on a team with him, I never ceased to be amazed by his dedication to be in the presence of God everyday without fail even at the expense of missing out on fun stuff we were doing. He consistently chose to stay home on his off days, instead of coming with us to do something fun because he would just have a compelling desire to just sit with the Lord. Whether it was spending time listening for the voice of God or spending his time reading through the Bible, when you have an encounter with Andrew, you know that he has spent time with Jesus.
Andrew inspires me in so many ways, many of which I don’t have space or time to write about in this blog, but the reason I start with this is because I believe the source of everything I see in him that I aspire for stems from that time he spends with Jesus. For example, Andrew has an uncanny ability to hear God’s voice in a very unique and artistic way. One time, immediately after training camp, the Lord prompted him to write a blog about each individual on the squad and write what color he saw them as and why. God used him prophetically to encourage and build us all up. I can’t even tell you how many times, being on his team, he would come to breakfast so excited to share with us whatever God had showed in his quiet time that morning. His genuine excitement, if I hadn’t spent time with God that morning, convicted me and pushed me to seek God’s face everyday, in order to uncover more and more exciting things in his word.
Out of the overflow of his relationship with Jesus, Andrew radiates love. He is the most intentional person I know, when it comes to loving people in the way they receive love best. For example, knowing I receive love best through words of affirmation, he is always telling me how awesome I am and how much he loves me. The things is it isn’t fake, but you can tell he genuinely believes what he says and it just overflows out of him naturally. However, for someone else, who receives love best through gifts, you can always find Andrew going out of his way to buy this person chocolate or snacks of some sort to show he was thinking about them. I could honestly say I have seen him do this for most people on the squad and those whom I haven’t seen, I can say with confidence that he has still been intentional about loving them and caring for them as best as he knows how. When you look at the way he lives his life, you know that he genuinely cares and has interests in each person he comes in contact with.
I think of Andrew and I think of a man who lives what he believes. I think of someone who follows Jesus so closely and with so much of his being that he brings others along for the ride. I think of someone who shines so brightly in the love of Christ that others can’t help but wonder how or why he is the way that he is. And I know his answer would be the same as what I have been saying all along, abide in Christ and you will bear his fruit.
John 15: 5 says “ I am the vine and you are the branches; whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, apart from me you can do nothing.” And Galatians 5:22-23 says “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness gentleness and self-control.” Andrew’s life is a great example of what it means to abide in Christ and see the fruit of his Spirit overtake every aspect of life.
So honored to call this guy my friend and brother! What a huge blessing he has been (and continues to be) to me! Thank you, John!
As for you all reading this blog post:
In all things, be blessed!
AG
