Friends

I didn't write again yesterday, because yesterday's prompt really tripped me up.  I had a hard time deciding exactly what I wanted to write about.  The prompt doesn't seem like it should have been that difficult: Friendship. How has a friend changed you or your perspective on the world this year? Was this change gradual, or a sudden burst?  But for some reason it was just really difficult for me to decide what I have been most impacted by in friendship this year.

Two friends who have changed my perspective on the world over the past year or so are Megan and Andrea.  I have worked with these women for two and a half years. For the past year and a half, Megan and her (now) fiance have been in community group with Josh and I.  In addition to the bond that has been created between us through working for the same organization, attending the same church, and belonging to the same small group; she and I also share the experience of being educated through the same graduate counseling program, which she will be graduating from in the spring.  Andrea and I go to church together, as well, and attended the same university for both our undergraduate and graduate degrees; but we were never really friends until we started working together.

As I write this I am realizing that I don't get that much time for deep, one-on-one conversations with either of these friends; but who they are always challenges me in my walk with the Lord.  Megan and Andrea both exemplify an enthusiasm and an openness that I long for in my own life.  They ask the questions they have, no matter what they are.  People are drawn to their guilelessness.  There is something so beautifully simple, yet mature, about the way they love the Lord.  I struggle to let down my guard and be vulnerable in these ways.  I know that no one is perfect, but I guess I still tend to want people to think I am.  Perhaps it is because I have really been trying to walk with the Lord for so long - since I was a little girl - so I tend to think that I should have my act together, know all the answers, and be a good example in all areas of my life.  I know it's ridiculous, but I get pretty down on myself when I feel like I've let someone down in one of these areas.  Andrea & Megan encourage me so much as I watch their lightheartedness in simply being who they are.  Through them I have begun to see what a burden I carry around when I try to answer all my own questions and find my own way.  Their freedom is helping me learn to relax.