For 9 years God has kept me in the dark about His plan with just a sliver of light to show what He wants me to do, but now He is slowly putting the pieces together and allowing me to see why certain things have happened as they did and why others did not. For the first time in my life I understand His purpose for creating me the way He has.
Being quiet, I have never had very many friends. I had my handful of friends, but only 1 of them was really close with me. I went through a stage where I was hanging out with my friends more and getting closer to them, but then when I entered high school I started drawing away from them again. During church on Sunday mornings they went to the high school youth group service while I sat in the main sanctuary with my family, so we didn’t see each other a whole lot. Gradually I drew away from all but my closest friend. And even then, we were drifting apart.
At first I did not understand why God would bring this sweet friend into my life and have us be super close for so many years only to weaken that friendship as we got older. I watched over the next couple years as she got more involved with youth group and college group while my family switched churches and got more involved with the ministry over at our new church, until we very rarely saw each other anymore.
For months I struggled with loneliness from missing the friend that I had at one point seen on a weekly basis, and was now lucky to see once a month. I was very sad and hurt that this would happen. This went on for months while I turned to God in my time of “distress”. With His help I finally came to accept the inevitable and became so close to Him that He became my best friend. After I had established my friend relationship with God, my sister and I started getting more chances to hang out together. Now, 2 years later, Shaylah is hands down my best friend next to God. A closer, more reliable, and more loved human friend I have never had. She is truly my closest companion!
I now see that had I been a “typical” American teenager and had a huge group of friends, it would have been more difficult for me to follow God to Africa. But more then that, I would have never had the spiritual walk that I have now nor the relationship that I have with my sister. Having a group of friends would have deterred me from spending so much time both with God and with my sister. I now realize that though it was hard at the time, drawing away from those friends was one of the best things I could have done for my relationship with God and my sister.
Through this seemingly simple experience, I have come to better understand the truth behind Romans 8:28 and fully believe that “all things” really do “work together for good to those who love God..” as He has shown me again and again. This is yet another example of how He was preparing me for the mission field even when I did not know it, and in ways that I never would have recognized as “training” while it was happening. His “works are wonderful I know this full well!” (Psalm 139:14)
“For the glory of the Lord!”
Being quiet, I have never had very many friends. I had my handful of friends, but only 1 of them was really close with me. I went through a stage where I was hanging out with my friends more and getting closer to them, but then when I entered high school I started drawing away from them again. During church on Sunday mornings they went to the high school youth group service while I sat in the main sanctuary with my family, so we didn’t see each other a whole lot. Gradually I drew away from all but my closest friend. And even then, we were drifting apart.
At first I did not understand why God would bring this sweet friend into my life and have us be super close for so many years only to weaken that friendship as we got older. I watched over the next couple years as she got more involved with youth group and college group while my family switched churches and got more involved with the ministry over at our new church, until we very rarely saw each other anymore.
For months I struggled with loneliness from missing the friend that I had at one point seen on a weekly basis, and was now lucky to see once a month. I was very sad and hurt that this would happen. This went on for months while I turned to God in my time of “distress”. With His help I finally came to accept the inevitable and became so close to Him that He became my best friend. After I had established my friend relationship with God, my sister and I started getting more chances to hang out together. Now, 2 years later, Shaylah is hands down my best friend next to God. A closer, more reliable, and more loved human friend I have never had. She is truly my closest companion!
I now see that had I been a “typical” American teenager and had a huge group of friends, it would have been more difficult for me to follow God to Africa. But more then that, I would have never had the spiritual walk that I have now nor the relationship that I have with my sister. Having a group of friends would have deterred me from spending so much time both with God and with my sister. I now realize that though it was hard at the time, drawing away from those friends was one of the best things I could have done for my relationship with God and my sister.
Through this seemingly simple experience, I have come to better understand the truth behind Romans 8:28 and fully believe that “all things” really do “work together for good to those who love God..” as He has shown me again and again. This is yet another example of how He was preparing me for the mission field even when I did not know it, and in ways that I never would have recognized as “training” while it was happening. His “works are wonderful I know this full well!” (Psalm 139:14)
“For the glory of the Lord!”
"But He is unique and who can turn Him? And what His soul desires, that He does. For He performs what is appointed for me, and many such decrees are with Him.”
Job 23:13-14
Job 23:13-14
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