Lately, life has been really amazing! No words can fully or properly describe all that's occured this last little bit. I've continued to grow close with my friends and develop even stronger brotherly and sisterly relationships with my brothers, Luke and Jesse, and my sister, Sarah. No matter how much I say it, no words will be able to describe how much these three mean to me. They are the bestest friends I could have only imagined in my wildest dreams. They've totally turned my world around, and where as before I felt that if I stumbled no friends where completely there or always there to catch me, now no matter how insain life is I know I can run into the arms of my brothers and my sister anytime. We do it to each other all the time. As our friendships have continued to grow, through them God has been helping me to begin to REALLy see things that used to be a bit of a blur to me before.
When people get hurt, we always complain - A paper cut, a scraped knee on the pavement, or even a sore leg muscle. Not matter how severe or how minor our injuries, we complain. Recently, I was talking to one of my brothers and my sister about all the pain they have to go through. Both of them have some pretty harsh pain that they deal with daily, but they are still living their lives to the fullest. I realized after talking with them that I really don't have anything to be complaining about. Compared to them, I've got it good in the pain department.(Although I don't for a second wish that I couldn't take those pains upon myself or at least help them to bare that pain. I'd take those pains in a heartbeak if it would lessen or help them to never feel that pain again.)
After realizing that, I remembered how Jesus died on the cross for us. He went through MAJOR pain! He was TORTURED for goodness sakes!! And, even though he knew it would cause him SO much pain, he did it anyways. That is MAJOR love right there!! No one in all my life, I could ever imagine doing that for me or anyone, except Jesus. I only recently discovered how badly pain Jesus was put threw! It's SO sad and awful, but I'm glad I'm seeing it more clearly.
Easter is just around the bend, and I don't know about the rest of you, but as the years pass, what Jesus did for me and all of the rest of mankind hits me harder every year. Things that I didn't understand before, I'm finally understanding. Things I couldn't imagine before, i can finally imagine. And it's all because of those two wonderful friends and siblings of mine who've been used by God to help me to see things more clearly.
This has only been our second week together as mega close friends, but even in that short period of time, God's spoken to me through them. God has used them to majorly open up my heart and my mind. Before, I used to always be afraid to say "I love you" as my brother in Christ to a boy, incase they'd take it the wrong way, or they'd start to develop emotions toward me that i didn't have for them. I also just believed that it was wrong and weird to tell one of my spiritual brothers that I loved them. Finally now though, I see that it's not. There are times to say it, and times to restrain, but in the end it's okay to tell someone you love them as long as it's a pure love from God. The way my brothers, sister and I love, is not of love from this world. It's love that only our Heavenly Father possesses and gives to the rest of us to pour out on others. His love is the purest of loves; he loves unconditionally. And that is how my brothers, sister and I love. The love we have for one another, seems SO sur-real even to me. It's the most incredible type of love though! The amount of true love that I've received from our Father through my brothers and my sister, have completely transformed my heart. Now I can look at a guy at my church, and not just see him as another random person. I can look at him and say in my mind that he's my brother.
These three incredible best friends of mine, have also helped me to do another important thing. They've helped me to hear God more clearly. Before I used to struggle a bit with that. Then after hearing their voices a few times over the phone, even when I chatted with them over some sort of instant messaging mechanism, I felt as though they were sitting right in front of me...nearly anyways. So many times I've rethought about conversations we've had, and many of them I've examined them and came to the shocking realization that that was only an IM conversation. I could basically hear their voices. And, that's helped me to hear God a lot clearer. It's like a passage in my mind, that has been open, yet sorta closed, if that makes any sense at all. And now that I've begun to talk to them, it's like God has taken them and through them opened up that passage so that it's wide and I can clearly hear his voice. It's SO incredible!
All that I can say, is that I love Jesse, Luke, and Sarah more than any possible words could depict or describe. They mean the world to me, and I REALLY TRULY believe that God has given them to me. With them, I feel completely accepted. I don't have to worry about anything with them. And they are completely true friends who take me and help me in my walk with God. We all do. And it's the most incredible and Godly brotherly and sisterly friendships that I've ever had!! They are like angels who God has sent at just the right time. And I truly hope that no matter where we are, whether we find spouses or not, or even if we remain in our hometowns we are currently in, I hope that we will be friends for eternity. God has connected our paths, and together we are walking and helping each other towards our destination. Our destination being to grow stronger in our walks with God, and to honor him in all that we do. And to one day live together in peace in God's kingdom.