The first word that comes to mind when I think of this friend is JOY! She has a beautiful, huge smile, a wonderful laugh, and a contagiously positive outlook on life. She has found contentment in being a Child of God and she exudes such peace. One of my favorite memories of her is from her wedding day. When it was time for the congregation to sing "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" the bride and groom stayed in the center, faced each other and sang their hearts out. It was beautiful. Then and there I decided I would sing worship to my God at my wedding someday too. She inspired that.
This friend became a teacher the same year I began teaching. We both taught in Christian schools. We had such wonderful conversations about the ups and downs of teaching. She was always so encouraging! I remember one particular conversation when we were throwing ideas back and forth about how to teach our students the concept of God's grace. She always inspired me to be the best teacher I could be... and to give myself that same grace that I was trying to teach my kiddos.
One example of learning to give myself grace included a life -changing conversation with this friend. I was beating myself up about all the mistakes I make when I play piano for church. I was feeling like I was ruining people's worship time with my fumbles and wrong notes. This friend explained to me two very important things: First, that playing piano is worship to GOD and therefore everything we offer Him in worship is beautiful. A clanging cymbal is beautiful to Him. My musical offering brings God joy. The second was that it's not my responsibility to bring people closer to the Lord through my music. Anyone can worship in any environment. It is God's grace that will turn my music into something that touches people's hearts. I just need to show up, do my best, and worship.
On a similar note, I had a separate conversation with this friend about the pressure I was feeling to do more at church. I can't remember if it was teaching or music or what. But, her reply has always stuck with me, "God never calls us to do something out of guilt." Powerful, true words.
This friend also taught me how to improve my prayer life. She herself used a prayer calendar to pray for the people in her life. She would pray not only for their salvation or their growth in the Lord, but she would pray practical things about each person (such as help in their schoolwork, their jobs, their health). She kept a copy of her prayer calendar on the dashboard of her car so she could pray for people even when waiting at a stoplight. She inspires me to have a consistent prayer life too.
This wise friend of mine inspires me daily. When something is hard and I have to persevere through it, I think of how she worked so hard to learn Greek and never gave up. When I feel myself listening to the lies that I'm not good enough, I remind myself of the contentment and joy that my friend has (and I can have) because of what Jesus did for us. When I have conflicts with people in my life I remind myself to give others grace, the way this friend would give it. When I miss family and friends that are far away and long to be closer to them, I remember the sacrifice this friend is making by being a missionary in Asia and I'm full of thankfulness. She is living her life for God and I want to be more like her (and ultimately more like Jesus). I'm thankful for this friendship.
 |
| The day of Missionary #2's wedding... |
No comments:
Post a Comment