And my beloved is mine.
I knew this would probably be an easy transition. I mean,
all of the girls on this team are SPIRITUAL POWERHOUSES when it comes to living
out their faith. They know how to love, and they do it well. I have never felt
so instantly accepted and appreciated more than I have this month, and even so,
I’m IMMEDIATELY being challenged in my walk with Christ. These girls aren’t so
much concerned with helping me walk out of who I was, rather, they are centered
on helping me walk INTO who I am. I’ve never felt so encouraged, so empowered,
so. . . so. . . Beloved. Is that cliché? Well I don’t care. It’s just true. Everyone
should have a community like this. O Squad in general is just the Bomb. Dot.
Com.
and it would be justified too, to Glorify how God has brought joy from
mourning. Yet, I have a sneaking suspicion that you want to actually get to
KNOW my new team, so without any further ado, introducing, TEAM BELOVED!
lovely little lady is our team leader. As you can probably tell by her haircut,
she’s totally BA. In fact, if you were to personify the term, you’d have her.
Look up BA in the dictionary and there is her picture. No. Really. Go look. In
all honesty, she’s the epitome of meekness, strength through humility. She
leads by example. I want to be her when I grow up, (which will never happen so
no worries.)
girl CAN’T back talk about. I love it. Sometimes I stand near her on purpose so
that I can catch all the witty, underhanded, two cent sarcasm that slips
through her lips. Oh, and that applies when to when she’s giving someone the
B-Slap with the Word of God. (The B stands for Brittany.) Oh and she loves
doughnuts. And coffee. Instant amazing. Just add water. (Not milk. She’s
lactose intolerant. God had to even her out somehow.)
three “Brittany”‘s on this team. The squad leader’s attempt at humor, I’m
guessing. But really. Brittany Priess (Or “BP”, as we like to call her) is kind
of like a bundle of Holy Spirit wrapped in a burrito of love, smothered in a TON
of Joy. She just has to open her mouth and amazing-ness pours out. Among other things.
As she’d say, “Stop it to me right now. I’m obsessed with her.” Or “Can we have a discussion about how
amazing this girl is?” I wish I could put all of the little “BP-isms” into a
bottle and keep them with me so I could use them whenever I needed to smile or
laugh. But, apparently she’s going to try out for Saturday Night Live when she
gets off the race, so now the whole world can laugh too. (Or, at least the USA,
because you can’t get Hulu in the rest of the world. As BP would say, “I’m mad
about it.”)
Courtney HOSS, as I’d like to call her? We talked about how we should be on a
team together, and when she found out I was on her team, the first thing she
said was, “YES! NOW I get the best hugs EVER whenever I WANT!” She’s quite
fantastic. Super wise and wonderful. Hears from God ALWAYS. Yet, she has this
fun “impish” side to her, because apparently she likes to do things that cause
other people pain. Like “Eyebrow threading.” I love to watch her torture
people, because her giggle brings me sick joy. I guess we’re both sadistic and
that’s why we’re friends.
Heather because she knows where I sleep at night. Don’t get me wrong, I love
her. As she put it, “You’re going to be my new best friend. You don’t have a
choice.” And I can’t argue. Like I said, she knows where I sleep at night. So,
I think if you know me, then you know the type of person I’d have a as best
friend, and you have Heather. For anyone that knows Anna Hart, imagine a little
Anna clone. No, world, apparently one wasn’t enough. This is why I know God is
still concerned about the fate of the orphans of the world. He made people like
Heather. If James 1:27 was a person, it would be her. (Oops. I may have said
too much. Guess I’ll have to sleep with one eye open now.)
and I in a conversation I had with another O-Squader once I found out that we’d
be on the same team:
Me: “Oh dear. Jenny and I are going to be on the same team?
You guys had better pray that we don’t kill each other.”
Random O-Squader: “Why? You guys don’t like each other?”
Me: “Oh no, we LOVE each other. THAT’S the problem!”
You see, Jenny and I are the same person. Really. Which
means that we hit people we love. We love best through violence. I guess I’m
just glad that Jenny is scared of me, because otherwise I’d have many bruises
before this race is over. (That’s right, Jenny. I said you’re scared. I dare
you to DO something about it. Please. So I can love you more.) For real though,
there isn’t ANYONE I wouldn’t want to take on the gates of hell by my side
rather than Jenny Sue. You should hear her “War Cry.” If I was a demon, I’d be
scared.
tell you how exciting this is for me? They’re amazing. They’re amazing.
A-MAZE-ING. God has loved me SO much through them already, and I know for a
fact that He’s brought me to this team to show me how to be loved. (Get it? “Be
Loved”?? The team name is BELOVED???…. ok I’m done.)
Thank you, God, for these girls, these women. They know who
YOU are, and they Love You, and in return, they have loved me. I can’t wait to
see what He has in store for us, besides a ton of mischief and bruises. 🙂
