20110708

in war with our toes.

another end to a great week & tonight i find myself in the presence of 5 lovely ladies. its friday and we normally have a connect time, which gives the five SAFE girls & glen and karen some time to just simply enjoy each others company, whether we go bowling or make some sort of dessert to partner with a romantic comedy. however, tonight we cherished our time for another reason. One of our beautiful ladies, Cami, is heading back home on Monday, so in honor of her we threw together a night that simply described who she was. 
homemade tortilla's & heart-shaped peanut butter cookies, as well as pedicures and my fair lady.... yes now that is cami in a nutshell. 
now you are probably wondering why i am rambling about a girls' night that will have absolutely no impact on your life whatsoever. However, as i was soaking my feet in a plastic container (we normally use to put leftovers in), watching audrey hepburn projected on our wall, hearing a close by neighbors child crying and sweating due to a hot summer africa night, i realized the importance of the relationships that were developing right before my eyes. five young christian women all in africa seeking after the Lord's will for their life & here we are with pumice stones in our hands attempting to remove african calluses from our american feet.  
it's beautiful really. to be able to develop these kinds of relationships. relationships that matter, that will flourish & not fade away after a certain season in life. not only is it beautiful, but important. it is important to learn how to build these friendships. to discover how to work with your brother or sister; to love and support them; to be able to sort out differences when you may not see eye to eye on things. 
please i beg,
do not lead a friend to betrayal, but be committed, loyal to the friendship.
Proverbs (17.17) says, "a friend is always loyal and a brother is born to help in time of need." 
create dependable and lasting friendships with those around you. love your brother or sister with the same love that Christ loves you. make your relationships intentional. 
for God's word says, "Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future." (Ephesians 4.2-4)
God desires for his people to be in unity, working together, staying loyal to one another. i desire with everything in me to be a dependable, loving, gracious, patient, understanding and true friend to those around me.i have committed myself to these girls here, as well as friends and family back home. in whatever environment i may be in, i will be what they need me to be.

as for now, in unity, 
with pumice stones in hand, we are in war with our toes.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Chels that's awesome that what you can see and learn in the little things of life. It sounds like your doing amazing things. Don't ever put God in a box. He can do things we can't dream of. And it sounds like you living yours and that's. Amazing chels. I love Ephs 4!


Always praying Caleb...