“As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.”
??1 Samuel? ?18:1? ?
I’ve been waiting to write this blog since the day I signed up for the race, but every time I sat down to write it I had so many thoughts I couldn’t decipher what the testimony was. I would ask my Father what I should write about and I felt in my spirit I should just wait because there were things that still needed to pass.
I have moved so many times in my life that it is impossible to keep up with everyone I’ve ever been close to. My life lacked consistency as I was always going somewhere and doing new things.
When I was 18 I wanted to move away from my family, friends, and everyone I knew so that I would be forced to rely solely on the Lord.
That year I ended up making some bad choices out of fear, but I also had the unique opportunity to have only God there to help me when things were impossible or falling apart. My faith grew immensely and I learned that life is hard when it’s just you and God. I saw the body of Christ as a necessity to grow in maturity and steadfastness with Him.
The summer before I moved away my high school best friend, Alisha, and I stayed up until 5am talking about how we wanted to walk the walk with Christ instead of just talking the talk. We rededicated our lives to God that night.
I had no idea the power of our prayers together (Matthew 18:20).
When I moved to Colorado Springs intentionally on my own, Alisha was planning on going to college in Las Vegas, however she ended up getting a full ride scholarship to a school in Greeley, Colorado and decided to go there instead. She lived 2 hours away from me and it was a blessing to get to see her from time to time.
When I was done with beauty school I asked God where to go. I could stay in Colorado Springs or go back home to Alaska or have a new adventure.
I prayed about my decision for a few weeks and felt in my Spirit that I should go to Greeley, but I didn’t want to make such a big decision based on a feeling. I asked God for conformation. Eventually, a friend of a friend called me (I didn’t even know her at the time) and asked if I would want to be her roommate in Greeley. I took this as my confirmation and moved to the same town my as my best friend.
After just 2 months of living in Greeley I was in need of another place to live. I worked my butt off to find places and people to live with. I found several options, but last minute they would always fall through. I was scared that I wouldn’t find a place to live.
I prayed and prayed and asked God why everything was falling through.
Then one day I received a phone call from Alisha. She said that she had a roommate who was moving out and she needed someone to take her room. I seriously jumped up and down (I was at the gym at the time and everyone was staring at me lol) and I moved in with my best friend and 2 other angels who eventually became my closest friends.
While I lived with my 3 new roommates I was blessed with a community of people who loved and cared for me in deep deep ways. Although I still made some bad choices, this was the point of my life where I started learning so much about the Lord and began my journey into spiritual maturity.
After 3 years of living with Alisha, Kristen, and Allison, I decided to do the World Race. I was thirsty to rely on the Lord again like I did when I was 18. I wanted to have trials where only He could provide, and part of the trial would be doing the race alone.
Then Alisha said she also wanted to do the World Race. We asked for the same route and got to be on R squad together.
So all this time that I wanted to do things on my own, God had a hand in Alisha and I living in the same state, then the same city, then the same house, then the same kingdom journey.
I started to get the hint. God knows, and I should have learned, that “man was not meant to be alone”. God had provided me a helpmate. Not in the same context as Adam and Eve, but in the same context as Jonathan and David.
The World Race is supposed to make you uncomfortable so you can lean into the Lord more. The World Race strips you of everything familiar that reminds you of home. Aka they don’t put your best friend from home on your team.
Alisha and I did 8 months of the race on separate teams. It was amazing going to the same countries, but having completely different experiences. We would check in once a month, but we had kind of our own friends on the squad who we would hang out with too so there wasn’t a ton of time for her and I to catch up.
Alisha and I were both growing and changing and although we were still the same people, I kind of felt like I didn’t know her anymore. I was okay with that because I knew that we would have time after the race to relearn each other. But my spirit saw that God pursued our friendship in a way that was a little extra you know? Like he didn’t need to do those thing for us, but he knew I needed something consistent in my life.
I decided to step up and pursue my friendship with her. I asked leadership to put her and I on the same team, even though the idea was unconventional. It was a long shot, but I prayed into all month in Nepal.
When we did team changes I was the last person called into a team. I didn’t realize that I was on Alisha’s team at first, but then I heard Alisha say, “wait… what?” And I locked eyes with her and ran into her arms and sobbed.
Same state. Same town. Same house. Same kingdom journey. Same team.
We’ve lived together the past 3 months and we’ve gotten to see the spiritual growth the other is walking in. We’ve gotten to call each other higher in walking with Christ. We’ve had to share a toothbrush amongst other things that I literally cannot put on the internet.
Alisha now lives her life through the Spirit and you can see it so clearly. She is disciplined with her waking up and spending time in the Word and in prayer. Her words are covered in love and wisdom beyond the World. She is constantly smiling outwardly, but also constantly smiles inwardly. She is full of joy and optimism and radiates the love of God on children and adults of any culture or language and doesn’t tire from cultural barriers. She sees the best in the hardest people and tries to get others to see the best in them as well. She also has an amazing gift of preaching. It’s been so fun watching her lead worship and preach the truth every week. She knows the rhythm of God and seeks Him with all her heart.
I can’t put into words the vast ways God has used who she is to soften my hard heart. I can’t put into words my love for her and what she means to me. I have experienced God’s extravagant goodness and that he wants us prosper in the same rhythm our souls will prosper (3 John 1:2). He has taught me that my soul needs hers to prosper.
Alisha and I started this journey as our 10th year of being best friends. We are now finishing 11 months, 11 countries, and 11 years of a covenant friendship.
Our season of being in the same location will change, but our souls will always be knit together in the pure unity of the body of Christ and for that I am thankful beyond words.
