Noah Gregory Larkin.
Kind. Compassionate. Patient. Introverted. Intelligent. Funny. Sweet. Goofy. Loving.
These words do not even do enough justice for this man. Noah is a fellow squadmate of mine and I have lived with him for 7 out of the 9 months of being on the field. He loves to read, ALOT. He has read about 17 books on the race alone, and when he reads he wears these glasses that make him look like a grandpa (I chuckle every time he wears them). He knows so much scripture… it’s actually insane. He’s very biblically and theologically sound. But he doesn’t just know scripture. He believes everything the bible has to say. Everything. It inspires me to also believe everything in Scripture.
Noah loves rock climbing, crunchy peanut butter, and romance. He also loves to crack jokes. Good ones, but mostly bad dad ones. Do I still laugh at them? Yes, yes I do. Because most of the time when he cracks jokes at me he does it to make me laugh. To put a smile on my face. And most of the time it works — he loves it when he can make me laugh even when I’m crying.
Noah has seen me at my very best, and at my very worst. He has seen me first thing in the morning coming out of my room looking like I got hit by a truck. No makeup, hair all over, and clothes raggedy. He has seen me when I am confident in who I am in the Lord, and when I doubt the Lords goodness. And you know what he does? He loves me just the same.
Here is the thing; God loves us at our peak, and in our valleys. Noah embodies the Lord’s relentlessness in every way shape and form. I wholeheartedly believe that God put Noah in my life to show me His love for me. To show me that I can trust men, that I can be comfortable around them, and that I do not have to earn their love and affection. Because, you see, Noah loves me just as I am. He has seen every part of me and loves me just the same. And vice versa.
God has shown me what a brother/sister relationship looks like in the kingdom. He has shown me how much He loves me and values me through Noah. He has shown me that I do not have to do anything other than be myself around himself. He has shown me that I can take off my mask of perfection; I am free to be myself and to be me fully. Just me is enough. Just me is enough for Noah. If just me is enough for him, then how much more enough am I for the Lord?
So Noah, thank you for being you. Thank you for being completely and utterly you and for accepting me just as I am. Thank you for loving me at every moment and pushing me closer to the Lord everyday. Thank you for embodying the Lords love not just to me, but to others as well. I love you a whole lot.
Thank you, God, for placing Noah in my life. Thank you for showing me how much you love me through him. Thank you for restoring my trust in men. Thank you for showing me everyday that you love me even when I don’t always see it. Thank you for not only putting Noah in my life to show me how much I am loved, but for putting others in my life to do the exact same thing. Thank you that every person in my life loves me for who I am. Thank you that people show me differently how much they love me. God, YOU ARE LOVE. The love that these people show me can only come from you. Thank you for being so eager to pour out your love onto me in tangible ways. I pray for the ability to love my friends with your love and choose to love them everyday.
“Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth” -1 John 3:18 ESV
If you know someone who loves you, thank them. Go up to them and thank them for loving you. Then remember that the Lord loves you even more than they love you. That he knows you more than they know you. That he chooses you at your best and at your worst, because he loves you. Don’t forget that today.
Thanks for reading guys. Texas, I’ll see you so soon.
-Kyla Cal
