I grew up in the Chicagoland and have been blessed with an amazing friend, who recently earned her Masters in Social Work at Aurora University. I met this Christ-centered, driven, intelligent, well-loved, and loving individual a bit over 5 years and 4 months ago in Professor Kathy Westman’s “Introduction to Sociology” class. We quickly became friends and our friendship has lasted ever since. Her name is Star and to say she resonates with God’s love and glory would be an understatement. She has been a huge encouragement in my life and I wish that more people would have such a wonderful influence in their lives. Whenever I am back in Aurora, we go to Starbucks for tea, coffee, and their varous soy-based drinks. I’ve labeled these ventures as ‘Starbucks with Star’ and have been known to rush on over to meet up with her. Quite a few of my friends are familiar by my love of these precious hours–even though they have yet to meet her. Her love of God and people is fascinating and she ‘gets’ me. She understands my past, encourages my present, and prays for my future. I am not quite sure what I would do without her beautiful presence in my life.
All this to say and I was blessed to enjoy a warm Tazo Zen green tea and half a cup of banana strawberry Vivano with StarLeigh in our favorite seats (or ‘thrones’) yesterday and her words of encouragement, as always, challenge me to live fully the way that God has made me. Which, at times, has been frustrating when I’ve heard the words ‘overwhelming,’ ‘too much,’ and ‘intimidating’ in correspondence to myself. While I have also heard counterparts to these negative words, it seems as though I remember the negatives more than the positives in my life.
Which, like a song on repeat, gets old after a while. Which, at the beginning of the year, makes my idealistic heart flutter in angst. I ask myself again and again, ‘How will this year be different? How will God use me? How will I grow? How will I be broken? Who will I serve and love?’ With these questions spilling over, like the tea in my Starbucks cup, I have decided to live more intentionally with my time–both physically and mentally. For I have noticed in recent years, that no matter how wisely I use my time, if my internal dialogue is negative, my attitude and actions quickly follow suit.
So.
I have a decision to make.
Will I choose to focus on the negative words I hear on repeat in my mind? Or will I focus on the encouraging words?
I know what Star would do in said situation. But it’s my choice and I choose the latter.
