The Wonder of Relationships

One of my friends and I had a really great conversation tonight. It's going to be really hard to explain in writing, partly because I don't even think that it's all completely understandable, but I'll try. We were talking about how God's plans for his children fit into marriage. First of all, not only is it completely amazing and unlikely for the God of the universe to take our seemingly pitiful lives and give them purpose, but he cares enough to lead us to specific places of ministry or people to minister to. He gives us gifts and talents. He gives us passions and things that make our hearts happy.

But then, there's relationships. Two people or a group of people living life together for a time. Sometimes longer, sometimes just for a few months. But with friendships or family, we still can follow after our own individual dreams and desires that God has placed in our hearts, and we're still very free to do whatever we feel led to do.

But then there's marriage. Where a man and a woman become one. And what I've been in awe of lately when it comes to marriage (it keeps looking better and better) is that it's two different people. Duh, I know, but hear me out. It's two people with at least some different passions, likes and dislikes, dreams, plans, etc. And a lot of these passions and dreams are from God. But what happens when two people who love each other have conflicting dreams or plans? I know it happens, and I know that you can't just give up on being together when this happens.

So, what if part of the beauty of marriage, is using these conflicts to further become one. Taking what he wants and what she wants and compromising (even though I hate to use that word.) But compromising in a way that God uses the unique gifts, dreams, and goals of the man and woman to make something even more unique and unlikely.

So, the Everlasting Creator God of the universe creates two people seperately, just the way that he imagined them from the beginning of creation. He gives them passion, love, characteristics, dreams, and a unique part in His purpose to bring himself glory and praise from all nations. But then he impossibly plans for that person to become one with another person with different passions, loves, characteristics, dreams, and purposes. And it's almost like an even better passion, love, characteristic, dream, and purpose is created.

The bible compares marriage to Christ and the church a lot. And even though the wonder of marriage is pretty awesome, it doesn't come anywhere close to the wonder and unexpected amazement that Almighty God would become one with his creation.

Fun with fingernails and photos

This morning I went out to Tarrant with a woman that I work with to help Bethel Baptist Church there with their Community Day. Stacye brought things for a "princess table." So, we had tiaras, fingernail polish, stickers, necklaces, and rings. We ended up having girls and women of all ages that wanted their nails painted and tiaras. It was a lot of fun.

Stacye's church, Gardendale FBC, has been partnering with Bethel to reach their community. It is one of the poorest communities in Birmingham. It was very cool coming in and seeing evidence of the relationships that some of the Gardendale teenagers have formed with the community teens and older kids. It was very obvious that they were just using their favorite things to do and their gifts to form friendships.

I was voted as the "photo lady." I just spent the entire morning going around and taking pictures of all the booths and kids and everything. I've noticed lately that I've been taking more pictures, and caring more about what the pictures looked like, but today for the first time I realized that I really enjoy photography. I hope I can get better at it. I wish I had some of the pictures from today to post, but they're all on Stacye's camera.

This Amazing Semester...

This semester has been amazing, surprising, odd, hard, and frustrating, but a huge blessing. There has been a lot of change. I started nursing school, begin getting really involved helping with the youth at church, have made a lot of new wonderful friends, and sadly grown away from some of the people that I've been really close friends with in the past. Kind of drifted away from BCM too...

But, I have been so blessed by these teenage girls that I've been pouring into. Of course, I've loved leading their small group, and just getting to know them, but they have given me so much too. There have been a few times this semester when I've been going through a hard time, and God has definitely used them. They'll say something or do something, and I can just see Christ through them so much! Sometimes we'll get to small group, and before I can say anything they're asking me how my week has been! I'm like wait, I thought that I was the one who was supposed to be taking care of them!

I've also just been so amazed at the grace that God has given me this first semester of nursing school. He blessed me an absolutely amazing clinical group and clinical instructor, and really... overall, it has all been a somewhat smooth process... in some very small ways... haha. And I've always wanted to be a nurse so I could go overseas and serve people and share Christ with them, but even in the US, there are so many sick people, who are just completely worn out and they need someone to remind them that there is hope and they can have joy. And I have just learned so much this semester about so many different things, and I know it is only because Christ has given me the grace and patience to be able to.

So... the moral of this post, even change that leads into all new things and into the unknown, can be made incredibly amazing by God.