i love that everything the Lord does points back to Him. or at least that was His intent. He says that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. 1 peter 4:11. i love that the Lord is faithful to move and redeem and restore.
i grew up in a houseful of guys and a tomboy for a mom. i have always felt so much more comfortable around the guys. i feel like more often than not i think more like them than a girl. i am a cut to the chase let’s get this settled kinda girl. so i always had a ton of guy friends and a few girl friends.
at some point in my life in texas i decided that wasn’t ok anymore. though i couldn’t stand women…they were crazy…i needed to learn how to be friends with them cause i wasn’t (hopefully) always going to be able to have guys as such good friends. there were two good friends but both of them got married and then i just stopped investing in guy friendships. not to mention the guy friends, save these two, i did have usually used me as the but of the sarcastic joke. they weren’t loving and building me up, caring for me like a sister in Christ.
so for nearly 2 1/2 years, i didn’t have any seriously good guy friends that i would hang out with and do life with. and it was such an interesting time because the Lord started to give me His heart for His women as i grew to know my true identity. as i learned who i was, my heart broke for all the women who didn’t know. and before i know it i am dreaming of ways to bring freedom to these women two years before i would have been like “that’s too much crazy for me, i’m hanging with the guys”.
and in december i met some people from a different church and started hanging out with them. and it was like my heart started to come alive in ways that it had been dead from. i forgot how much i loved to hang with the guys. but the even better part was that the Lord redeemed it so that it is better than ever before. that the Lord saw fit to bring men into my life who are protective of me. who love and treat me like a sister in Christ. who build me up and push me into my giftings.
i got to go to dinner with a few friends last night and was just reminded of how blessed i am in all of this. i was sitting across the table from two men, one i have known for 6 months and one i just met both who love the Lord, and i was sitting next to a dear girlfriend. i couldn’t help but have such thankfulness in my heart to see where the Lord has brought me from and into. where i once couldn’t stand to be around women, i love it! like if i could pick one thing to do for the rest of my life (outside of being a wife and mom), i would hug women and tell them their identity in Christ. and where i once was surrounded by “christian men” i feel like the Lord has brought men who know Him. deeply truly. who honor me in all things.
and even in this it makes my heart glad for the better redemption story. that He has redeemed me through His blood and sacrifice. that He considered it joy to go to the cross to pay for something He didn’t do so that i could be with Him! and that sweet story makes every heart break, every frustrating job, every whatever pale in comparison. and if it pales in comparison now…i can’t wait for heaven!
