Saturday, November 11, 2006
there are just certain groups of people i hang out with that make me laugh so so hard. some have been tested and proven to be able to do that, others surprise me by what they manage to do to me. and it's funny really coz i wouldn't have ever imagined certain things to be the way they are now, especially with people in school and with the girls in church. but it struck me last night how gently, subtly, yet surely God's worked through my defenses and pride these last few months and chiseled away at them. used to be so self-sufficient and contented with the friends i had already that i didn't bother to build friendships with people i felt were different or who i felt weren't on the same level with me. so i just brushed them aside, didn't make time for such relationships, and thought i was just fine without them. but i've come to realize how wrong i've been and how much i've missed out on. i've come to realize what gems these people are, how these friendships have been such a blessing, how i've been the atas one all along, and how thankful i am that the opportunity to build these friendships have not passed me by. as i look back on these last few months, i see God's fingerprints so so clearly in the new, renewed, or deepened friendships i've had with people in my project group, in class, in church with the girls especially like cheryl, aggie, ade, emily, sul...and it's meant a lot. so when i think back to a time before when i didn't like school or the people in social work very much, and when i didnt think i needed close friendships with the girls in church and thought i was just fine, i see now how much my pride and self-sufficiency kept things that way. i thank God for how He's at work in me. and i'm even more thankful for how His patience with me is exhibited through the patience and acceptance these people have shown me. and perhaps most of all, i thank God that He's not done with me yet and that His ways are gentle, perfectly timed, and perfect.
