A Heart Full of Friends

Tonight was a night of mixed emotions. Some college girl friends and I decided to get together before the tides of life rolled once again. One of us moving out of state, one just recently married, one just finished basic training, and two finishing college. Now, these aren’t just any college friends. They are the college friends that have sown seeds of love, laughter, hope, and friendship in my heart forever. The friends that would come and wake me up for our 7:15 AM class when my alarm just happened to not go off. The friends that took me on a surprise trip to the beach in the middle of January after a break-up. The friends that made me a gigantic sun out of construction paper because they knew I missed the California sunshine. The friends that had a valentine’s party, just us five single girls. (We had the coolest heart shorts too!) The friends that come alongside you when they know you are struggling, just to hold you and hurt with you. They make your heart full. These are the kind of friends that I wish, hope, and pray everyone would have.

~JH

One of Those Days

Do you ever have one of those days where you just want to jump? Maybe out of frustration, maybe out of joy. Almost like the swelling emotions inside of you are taking on rocket blaster form and about to explode? [Cheesy analogy I know, its the best I could come up with at the moment.] Well today is one of those days for me. About a week ago, my so called “plan for my life” was completely ripped from under me. Ok maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration but let’s just say there was a huge unexpected turn of events. Initially I was awestruck and sad. But in the midst of the craziness my mother challenged me with something I will never forget. She said, “Julie, sometimes God closes doors so clearly you mistake them for tragedies. Look for the lesson in this and test it with the truth, the Word of God.”

In Philippians it says, “Do not be anxious for anything but in everything with prayer and petition present your requests to God. And the peace the surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and minds in Christ Jesus” (Vs 4-6). Never has this verse rang so true in my life. The second half of this verse is not just another probable option in a multiple choice problem. When it says “the peace of God which surpasses all understanding WILL guard your heart and minds...” it means, it WILL. This is what is so amazing about the promises of God. They really do happen.

Now looking back I am awestruck and amazed at how God has orchestrated this whole thing. How each surprise and disappointment has turned into a valuable piece of the puzzle. So now my friends, I am going to give you the same challenge my beautiful mother gave to me: Sometimes God closes doors so clearly you mistake them for tragedies. Look for the lesson in this and test it with the truth, the Word of God.

~J