Today was the most unproductive Saturday of my life, and yet it rocked. I slept in until 9:30, woke up, and slowly got ready for the day. Around 10:30, one of my best friends from high school picked me up, and we headed to The Fruited Plain for a coffee date. We chatted for a little over an hour, and I learned SO much about the beautiful daughter of God. She's getting married at the beginning of June, so needless to say, it's sometimes hard to find time to hang out with her because she spent a lot of time with her fiance in high school and her first two years of college. Now knowing she has the rest of her life to spend with him, she's much more eager and willing to hang out with her high school friends. Did I feel slighted in high school, though? Nope. I had a boyfriend for awhile... he came.. he went.. and my friends were still there. Friends, for the most part, will always be there. She wanted her guy to always be there, so she spent time with him, and now he is :) After discussing wedding plans and updating her on my non-existent (I'm okay with that) love life, we started discussing our futures and our faiths. This part was LEGIT. The girl and her future hubby are interested in missions! Whaaa?? If you follow my blog at all, you'll realize I AM TOO! She (that beautiful girl in the yellow) and her fiance have this passion for people and the pain in the world. He'll be a teacher; she'll be a nurse--perfecto! How refreshing it was to hear a high school friend talk about her faith, this type of conversation with an old friend is unfortunately rare.
After our wonderful coffee date, I ate some rather disgusting lunch in The Commons, and headed to the other girls' dorm with a close friend and future roommate of mine. We chilled in her room for awhile and talked about a few personal struggles of ours with her roommate and her twin sister (two separate people). The twins are those babes in the picture :) Afterwards, we prayed. We sat in a circle on her futon, joined hands, and prayed for patience..peace..understanding..and our brothers in Christ. It was beautiful, and God truly answered the peace prayer immediately.
Next, I wandered down the stairs. On the way down, I ran into another beautiful sister in Christ: my RA from freshmen year. This girl is a beautiful, living example of Christ's love and exhibits the gentleness and grace that He calls His daughters to portray. Did I also mention that she gives the BEST hugs? She knew of the struggles I have recently been dealing with, and could see that my mind was slightly consumed with thoughts at the moment. Silently, she gathered me in her arms and squeezed the life out of me for a full five minutes. We looked at each other, she quietly mentioned that she was praying for me, and I continued down the stairs.
Off to visit one last friend, I ran into a good friend and her boyfriend in the first floor kitchen. They had just finished washing dishes from a lunch they had made together and were excited to see me. I poked my head in,, only intending to say a quick "hello," and ended up getting advice from the mature, Christ-centered relationship halves for about half an hour.
Finally, I wandered into a wing to apologize to a dear friend for a misunderstanding we had experienced earlier that week. The misunderstanding had turned into an avoidance, and I desperately missed her energetic life and smile in my life. I, being the cause of the misunderstanding, asked for forgiveness, we talked, hugged, laughed, and are praising God through our friendship once again.
After the last conversation, I realized I would soon be late for babysitting, so I ran out the door and have been babysitting ever since. For the most unproductive Saturday of my college career, it sure has been a blessing! God's love, blessing, and redeeming grace was evident through all my conversations and run-ins. What a beautiful, truly blessed day it was!
Oh, and I almost forgot! As I headed out of my friend's room, I bumped into a dear friend who had transferred from Dordt this semester and come back to visit her old friends for a week. Ah, so WONDERFUL... God is good. He is so, so good to me!
And Janelle, I've missed you. It's so good to have you back for a week :)
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