Crazy Love--You Might Not Finish This Post

Okay, so I’ve started a new book—I know some of you have read it because you’ve told me you have—called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Today I read chapter 2, entitled, “you might not finish this chapter.” I really needed to hear what this chapter said, and chances are nearly every single one of you needs to hear it too. In short:
Life is not about you.
Life is about God.
Your life could end before the day does.


Really truly think about this. Please. Spend as much time as you need in order to begin to comprehend those three statements (it’s Christmas break—what else do you have to do today, seriously?). We will die. We could die today. I know it’s hard to grasp. To me, I’ve never not existed. It’s a weird concept (in addition to being grammatically confusing).

What really got me, though was an essay written by a twelve year old. A twelve year old. Please read it. Let it sink in. Let it change the way you view today. Pray that any motivation it creates within you will be long-lasting.

“Since I Have My Life Before Me
By Brooke Bronkowski
I’ll live my life to the fullest. I’ll be happy. I’ll brighten up. I will be more joyful than I have ever been. I will be kind to others. I will loosen up. I will tell others about Christ. I will go on adventures and change the world. I will be bold and not change who I really am. I will have no troubles but instead help others with their troubles.
You see, I’ll be one of those people who live to be history makers at a young age. Oh, Ill have moments, good and bad, but I will wipe away the bad and only remember the good. In fact, that’s all I remember, just good moments, nothing in between, just living my life to the fullest.
I’ll be one of those people who go somewhere with a mission, an awesome plan, a world-changing plan, and nothing will hold me back. I’ll set an example for others, I will pray for direction. I have my life before me. I will give others the joy I have and God will give me more joy. I will do everything God tells me to do. I will follow the footsteps of God. I will do my best!!!"


I know that initially the idea of having to live today for God kind of bogged me down--it's kind of embarassing to admit, but it's the truth. Then I thought, I don’t have to, I get to. It’s a privilege. Really truly, it’s a gift.

I'm not going to apologize if I made you feel uncomfortable. I think we all need to feel uncomfortable often. How else are we ever going to change? I don't want to be sorry for bringing up Christ. I don't ever want to feel like maybe He doesn't belong in the conversation, situation, note, whatever. I'm done with that nonsense.
Today I will live in love with Christ and allow myself to overflow with whatever small knowledge I possess of His great love for me. Do the same!

Collegio: A Synopsis

Collegio
A Synopsis
By Dr. Hayley Huber

Let me begin by stating that I’ve never seen the abbreviation for doctor perched so comfortably beside my name before. Actually, I’ve never seen it beside my name at all, comfy or not. It looks kind of nice. I think maybe I’ll go to college for six extra years just so I can add two little letters and a period to my title. In all truthfulness, I’d actually prefer to add three other letters and a different dot before my name—these letters you don’t have to go to school to get—but I guess that all that will happen in time.
You may be wondering why I decided to write this scholarly paper. If you are doing so at the moment, let me clear up a thing or two. And I shall use points, because they are sophisticated. 1.) I have the time. (Let me just insert here, that this tiny little statement may look rather common and inconspicuous, but is in reality a most unusual and mind-blowing assertion. Having said that, I shall resume.) 2.) I am feeling slightly dissatisfied with myself and with life at the moment, and rather than wallow in self pity—and extreme boredom—I’ve decided to make an attempt to cheer myself up. It is my greatest hope (and possibly a rather foolish one) that this long and high-worded, convoluted-sounding summation will cheer others up as well.
Now that I have discoursed on the way in which the ‘Dr.’ before my name makes me happy and the reasons why I decided to write this thing, I am running out of things to write about. Let me begin by saying (let me cut in on this sentence and draw your attention to the fact that I’ve said “let me” four—now five—times in the last three paragraphs. There are no psychological or literary implications to draw from my syntax so don’t strain your brains.) that I miss you all dreadfully. Dreadfully. (Repetition—in this case I am purposefully using repetition to convey to my readers a sense of great importance.) Dreadfully. (Have I conveyed enough? With the hopes that I indeed have, I continue…).
College is nice and all (and yes, I do realize that I am incredibly fortunate to be able to be here in this time in this place, knowing the people that I know, with plans God has formed for me stretching out into the distance. I know I am fortunate. Really. I’m just a little down and out right now. And I miss you all. Is that so wrong?) but it is significantly lacking in Eskimos, little sisters, Latinos, HP pals, kindred spirits, and parents. Oh, and dogs. And hamsters. (My hamster is still alive, right, Hannah?) And peach trees. And mountains which lend significantly to my sense of direction. And my room. My room. A moment of silence for my recently departed room. (Hahaha, yes that was a pun of sorts. You don’t have to like it.)
I know that I’ll survive here, but guys, I don’t want to survive. I want to thrive. (Yes, I made that up all by myself. I’m an English major. That sort of stuff just rolls of my tongue and plummets from my lips. Kind of like a grape or a pea.) Could you pray that I would live life like God desires me to? That I would be all that I am and learn to be more, rather than be content with less than who He’s made me to be? I love you all immensely and I think of you often. Thank you so much for being such positive influences in my life. Positive influences. What a lame idiom. With a wave of my magic English-Ed. wand I shall transform that lifeless and brittle phrase into something with depth and emotion.
Thank you so much for being such magnanimous paradigms in my life.
I love you. God bless you.

For the most part sincerely,
Hayley

Just A Sampler

I leave in four days. I still have to pack three bags (and maybe my mom will let me stuff a few more things in her carry-on. That would be nice.). I need to spend more time understanding the strange and slightly over-my-head world of tuberculosis (wow! I spelled it right!) and foreign healthcare so that I can sound intelligent during our summer reading discussions. What is the conservative view on healthcare? Where can I find it? If I do find it, will I agree with it? Is it bad if I don’t agree with it entirely? Because it seems like what they were doing in Haiti was right. Good. Godly.

Tiana is gone. Tiana lives in a dorm. So does Faith. I will become a partner-in-dorm-life very soon. The thought is slightly depressing. And then exciting. Will everyone get athlete’s foot? I can’t stand watching people spit after brushing their teeth. I can’t stand it. Will I have time to be completely by myself? I really want the whole piece of chocolate cake, but I must not eat the whole piece of chocolate cake. I am mad at myself. I am frustrated. I am confused. I am comforted. I am aware that there are much bigger things—really—even though I am not entirely convinced.

I have now determined that it’s not just teenagers whose minds are so incredibly convoluted. That’s giving us too much credit—or too much blameworthiness (I bet you didn’t know that blameworthiness was a word). Life doesn’t get clearer—or easier—when you get older. Actually, I have the sinking suspicion that it just gets foggier and a little steeper.

I have a debit card. I have too many accounts. Too many pins. Too many passwords and usernames. I am old. Ancient. Positively medieval. Alice in Wonderland looks like it’s going to be too weird for me.

That’s all. Actually, that last sentence was a lie. There is very much more trapped within my head. This is just a sampler.

A Party and Sentimental Feelings

So yesterday I had my graduation/goodbye party. It was wonderful. My family worked very hard to make it so. Everything was arranged to perfection. There were bins for recycling, there were little twinkling lights, there were four extra tins of homemade enchiladas—visible proof of my family’s love for me. There was going to be a whole tray left of Ghirardelli brownies, but then my dog got to them. Now there is only half a tray of Ghirardelli brownies. But so is life…

Many of the people who I love and care for were there. And many of those who live far away sent beautiful letters (as my little sister requested so that she could create the sweetest scrapbook I’ve ever seen). I just want to express how blessed I feel. How very blessed I am. Thank you, God, for these people that you’ve given me—for these lives that You’ve intertwined with mine. Thank you.

Thank you, my spectacular friends. Thank you, my wonderful family. I love you.

The pieces are falling into place and in less than two and half weeks I’ll be headed to Grantham, Pennsylvania to try my hand at college life—ah! My blogs are about to get a whole lot more interesting…

Something Hard, Something Unexpected, Something Wonderful

Alright…prepare yourselves for a blog of epic proportions. This past week has been the strangest, most wonderful, weirdest, most confused bunch of days in my life. I feel like it’s lasted a month or two. I’ve talked to quite a few people about it, but I still haven’t gotten all my thoughts out—so now I will write to you. Let me begin at the beginning.

Last Saturday (the 13th) Hannah and I got on a plane and flew to San Pedro Sula, Honduras for a mission trip. I have to admit that for the first day or two I really didn’t want to be there. It was tough to see the things we saw and do the thing we did; I was disgusted with myself for this selfish behavior and also for the way I doubted God.

Then, on Monday when we did our first day of vacation Bible school with the kids at the state orphanage, Nueva Esperanza, I really started to enjoy what we were doing. I began to truly love the kids. I began to love my team (including our translators and bus driver). On Tuesday we took our little bus up to a new orphanage/school and had lunch with the kids there before we began work on digging a ditch in the hard clay (I still have the blisters to prove how hard I worked. I had fun. Maybe I’ll forget about college and dig ditches for a living. Maybe.).

That night we--the team and the translators—about eighteen of us in all--slept in the mission house provided by the orphanage. At 4:30 in the morning a masked, armed man came into the room Hannah and I were sleeping in with five other girls. He was in the room for about a half an hour. He had us give him our money, and then he rummaged through our stuff. He molested a girl. When we had the chance to run, we took it and woke up the rest of the house (which had stayed asleep for the entire event). One of the translators actually caught the man and grappled with him, and as a result was shot in the toe.

The day was full to the brim with waiting. Waiting for everyone to pack up. Waiting for the police. Waiting at the hospital. Waiting at the police station. Waiting for lunch. Waiting to check back in to the hotel room. We waited with mixed feelings of sadness and happiness at the thought of being sent home three days early (they flew us all home Thursday instead of Saturday).

If it sounds like a rough day, that’s because it was (I’m not going to lie), but that doesn’t mean that God was missing from a single part of it or that we were miserable for all of it. Because He wasn’t and we weren’t. During the day, in the days following, and even now I’m still looking back and finding new evidences of God’s presence in the experience.

He blessed every single one of us with incredible strength and peace (even in the presence of our enemies). He gave all of us joy and laughter (and stupid jokes). He proved to me once and for all that I truly do trust Him fully and believe wholly in Him. He gave me seventeen new friends (a few of whom I now feel like I’ve known for years and wouldn’t give up their friendships for the world). He drew all of us nearer to Him. He gave us a powerful testimony so that we may continue the work that we started: saving souls. He even gave us hope that we might get to return and finish what we left so incomplete. (As an added plus, Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife were praying for us personally. I just thought that was kind of neat.)

There were so many other things that He did—so many things that could have gone wrong or been worse. As someone said in an email to the team: “God allowed it to happen, but with very clear boundaries. This far and no farther...just as the Lord holds back the oceans from crossing too far over the shore. Nothing happens to God's children without God's permission.” It’s very true. I can vouch for it because I saw it with my own eyes.

There’s a bit more to this strange week that I don’t feel like talking about just yet—but it’s a good thing, I promise. It has been a bizarre week. A weird and wonderful week—to say the least.

Anyways…that’s it. I’m no longer as young or as innocent as I once was. I’m no longer as blind. But I still have a lot of things to work through. I’m not emotionally scarred or anything, I’m just struggling with little things like selfishness and crankiness and a feeling of let-down-ness and what-to-do-next-ness. I came off the mountaintop and now I’m in the valley (but don’t let me deceive you, it’s not completely dark down here and there’s company—God works here just as he does up there).

As further proof of God’s goodness, He put it on my heart before we left to memorize Psalm 23. I did, and it was (and still is) a comfort to have it hidden in my heart. Before I write it out here for you to read, let me just say:

Don’t forget that Jesus has overcome the world. Don’t forget that in Him we are more than conquerors. Don’t forget that if we have Jesus, we have no reason for fear. Don’t forget that He is good. Don’t forget that He is strong. Don’t forget that He is completely willing and totally capable of rescuing and protecting those He loves. Don’t forget that He loves us. And don’t back down.

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

A Psalm

You are God and there is no other.
You are mightier than the oceans—
For you are their Master.
You blow on the waters and they surge and churn.
You are mightier than the storm—
For it is yours, the work of Your hands.
You stand in the thunder,
You surround yourself with the lightning,
The wind and the rain lash around You,
But You remain unmoved.
There is no place You have not seen.
You have viewed the deepest trench,
Smiled upon the farthest star,
Known the souls of men.
You have utterly known the souls of men,
And yet You love us.
You look on us with compassion and pity.
You look on us with strength and power
And are fully prepared to lift us from
The filth and decay that is in and around us.
You are holy;
We can never fully comprehend You,
And by this we find comfort.
I love You, LORD.
To You alone my praise is due.
I will sing of Your glory when I wake
And when I lie down,
When I walk and when I rest.
You are holy.
You are God and there is no other.

No, I Have Not Died

I don't consider this a real post, I just want to let you know that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, or died, or lost the use of my fingers, or anything like that. What has happened is this: I've been writing a book for some time now and recently I've really started writing seriously. So now when I feel the urge to write I go straight to writing my story rather than begin blogging. I'm also trying to finish up highschool (two days left!--yikes), and I'm working a little bit at a swim shop, and I'm going to a lot of graduation parties, and I've taken up the violin in addition to piano, and I've become quite the exercise-aholic... Anyways... I'll start blogging again soon. I promise. Have a great night!

A Challenge

Hello.
So, despite the fact that lately there are moments in my life when I feel like a little, fuzzy bumblebee buzzing here and there and everywhere (and back again), and disregarding those nights when I crash into bed either too tired to snore or too exhausted to sleep (yes, this does happen, unfortunately), I have decided that these next few months will most likely be the least frantic months of the rest of my life.
This thought tends to scare me.

Although I have been incredibly busy (to my way of thinking) for the past while, I have also realized that I really have a great amount of time to myself.

I have a confession. It’s something you probably could have figured out (being the incredibly bright people that you are), but just in case you haven’t come to this conclusion regarding my character, I’ll let you in on a secret.
I really enjoy down time. I like to sit in my bright room with the windows open and listen to the birds and read or write or journal or blog. Quaint, am I not? And recently, I’ve begun to realize that I should spend more of this time talking with, learning about, and contemplating on God. So I’ve tried to do so. As a result, something cool has happened.
God has begun to bless my efforts. Actually, He began to bless them the very first night I sat down and gave Him more time than I usually did. Generally, I like to do my quiet time in the morning, before I do school work or any of the other things on my list, because I want to give my day over to Him straight away. I’ve done this for a few years, but recently I have been getting upset that I haven’t been moving forward in my relationship, and I’ve been wondering how to change that.
A few weeks ago I had an epiphany.
I give my mornings to God, but to whom do I give my afternoons and my evenings?

To me, I give them to me.

As a result of this enlightening reflection, I decided to try and have two more “quiet times” in my day. So, now when I finish my homework and have nothing really pressing on my mind, urging me to get up and get accomplishing, I have a second, slightly more contemplative time with God. He’s really using this time. It’s pretty exciting.
Now I’m working on having some quiet time right before I go to bed. I’ve got a couple of instructive, inspiring books that I’m going through and so I’ll read a chapter or two and then pray. This helps me to focus on “what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy" (Philippians 4:8)--which is a nice way to fall asleep.

In conclusion, I’ve realized that this is the time in my life when I have very little to worry about (though it doesn’t seem so at times) other than my relationship with Jesus Christ. Next year, once I’m in college, this free time will disappear. I know that I will always make time for Him, but that time might never be as free from distraction and pressing cares as this time is now. I must take advantage of the time that I have been given. I must seize the day.
Right now is a gift with a purpose. This is my time to draw near to Christ. I would be a complete fool to let it slip away.

Many of you are in the same boat. This is God’s time. Give Him what is His due. Squelch the misconception that we own our time. Our time is God’s. If we draw near to Him, he has promised to draw near to us. It follows that the more we draw near to Him, the more He will draw near to us.

He's ready to take us higher, to bring us deeper, to move us farther. Let's not keep Him waiting.

Unity and Significance (and Steve Martin's Brother)

I went to Bible study the other night with very little expectations. I must admit that I haven't been getting a lot out of anything I do with my youth group lately (something, I realize, may be partly my fault). It’s kind of sad—but that’s not what I sat down to talk about.
So, at my study we’re going through The Truth Project, which is a series of videos basically asking us (Christians everywhere) to examine what we believe and determine why we believe it. This particular video was on the relationship between God and Man. It was all about oneness, intimate fellowship, and the mysterious union of the trinity and the church, and Christ and His children. I got a few things out of this video, but the thing that stuck with me the most was this:
The speaker (who looks like Steve Martin’s brother—this has absolutely nothing to do with what I was saying…) leaned close into the camera and asked with great solemnity (something he does quite well, unlike Steve Martin),
“What keeps us from unity?”
This is a rather heavy question, but its weightiness might be overlooked if the term unity isn’t further expounded on. Here’s what Jesus has to say about this word:
“…That all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as We are one: I in them and You in Me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.” John 17:21-23 (This whole chapter is an awesome one—just in case you’ve never read it before.)

Did you catch the astounding marvelous-ness of His meaning?

We’ve essentially been given a spot in the Trinity.

Now, I don’t mean that we’re gods or anything like that, but we’re invited into Him and He will be in us. This is what God desires, this is why Jesus came, this is what the Holy Spirit has accomplished.

Alright, now that we’ve got that down (if that can ever be “gotten down”), let me tell you how Mr. Martin answered his question of why we’re not taking full advantage of this mind-blowing-ly incredible gift of oneness with God. (I was on the edge of my seat for this one, because I’ve been wondering a great deal lately why there is such a gulf between me and Christ.)
He said,
“Our hunger to be significant keeps us from unity with God.”

Wow.
This significance thing has definitely been a huge part of my life for a long long while. And I know that it’s been a problem, but I just didn’t know how big.
I want to have people love me. I long for it. And when I’m not loved to a point that satisfies this craving, I’ll imagine it into being. Let me know if I’m wrong, but I think a lot of girls struggle with this problem, better known as day-dreaming.
Mr. Martin says that we were given this desire for significance, just as we were given a sexual desire. It is good when used as God intended it, but evil after being twisted by the world.
How do we turn this hunger into something God can be pleased with?

We must turn to Him, and allow ourselves to be fully satisfied with being significant to Him. Because, really, not being satisfied with our importance to God, and looking to quench our thirst elsewhere, isn’t only futile and idiotic, it’s so incredibly disrespectful and hateful to Christ.

Augh, so I know that this isn’t something that can be solved in a day, but the sooner resolved the better. We can comfort ourselves by knowing that this desire of ours (to comprehend and to take part in unity with Christ) is God’s desire as well. And with the two of us working together (and His strength being made perfect in our weakness), the odds for victory are pretty good.

King Lear; The Good, The Bad, and the Hilarious

Well, I think it’s time to introduce you all to the glamorous and slightly insane world of a Shakespearean director.
Okay, I lie.
It’s insanely mental, but not at all glamorous.
Here is a little peep-hole view of the strange and colorful world of thespians and the relationship between the directors and the directed.


Hayley: …And they couldn’t get the pool balls out of their mouths, so they had to go to the hospital and have their jaws dislocated.
Kent: I saw this guy put an eight ball in his mouth and--Huwegh! Swallow it--and then (da da da daa) regurgitate it!

King Lear: Howl, howl—I don’t have to howl four times, right? Look, look a mouse!

Hayley: Albany, you’re a frustrated duke, not a flustered housewife.

Hayley: Can you say that line with more…um, can you say it less, eh, hum…can you (waves hands vaguely)…you know…

Other director: Trail behind—
Hayley: Walk in front—
Other director: More sorrow.
Hayley: Laugh.
Other director: Step forward.
Hayley: Step back.

Hayley: Where’s Gloucester? And Cornwall. And Regan. And Goneril. And Albany.—Albany’s at home you say? Well, then, somebody call him up and ask him why he’s not here.
King Lear: Hi Albany, what were you planning on doing this afternoon? (Pause) Science fair project? (Glances nervously over at steaming director) Well—
Hayley: Tell him to come over now and I’ll help him finish his science project when we’re done. (Hayley grimaces. This is the ultimate sacrifice, as she hates science projects more than words can express.)

Hayley: So you’ll want to weave in front of Cordelia and behind Kent, over Lear and under Regan, twirl around Goneril all the while looking cynical, then step twice to the left and side step Cornwall (now you're jesting, but afraid. Terrified, yet jovial), jump forward twice and barely miss knocking into Gentleman number one, who you must give time to slip you a note, before you exit upstage left. Got that?

Here are some things I have learned:

1. Give a boy a sword and we’ll wander off the point, never to be recalled again.
2. A dead person is distracting.
3. Arguments happen, and when they do they must be speedily resolved with prayer. Otherwise you’re sunk.
4. When two people die in close proximity to one another it’s very difficult to keep it all from looking awkward.
5. A director with giggles is about as helpful as a toothbrush with no bristles.
6. The words director and perfectionist can never go in the same sentence.
7. It’s very sad when you decide you want to act, and wear a pretty dress, but know that you’ll end up backstage in black.
8. You must somehow go with the flow, all the while keeping a grip on the rudder.
9. Shakespeare talks too much.
10. It’s different, but not disagreeable, to shine through other people.

Anyways, I'm having a good time for the most part, and content with knowing I'm building character for the rest. We still need lots of prayer, so if you thought of it and you felt like shooting a quick one to God, it would be much appreciated. I desire this play to be all for His glory--gory deaths, drawn-out, slightly boring monologues, and all.

Numa Numa and The Screwtape Letters

I have the Numa Numa song stuck in my head. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go to youtube and type in the words 'Numa Numa'.
Then you will know the song.
Unfortunately, my having this song stuck in my head is not a good thing for the rest of you. It's rather an odd song and tends to turn my brain to mush.

Wow, lots of things have been going on lately, which is the reason there haven't been many blogs of late. Which is sad. I would like to thank those people that enjoy reading my blogs by writing more blogs, not less.

Since my last blog (wow, I've said the word 'blog' a lot, sorry.) I’ve been to visit Messiah and Whitworth (in PA and WA respectively) and still don’t know where I’m going. Sigh. God, if you could just paint a big red X on the college you want me to go to, I’d be much obliged. I’ve also been procrastinating about my science project and am now reaping the consequences. King Lear, that long-winded old man, is coming along, but I just may go crazy before we actually get it on stage. “Go after her, she’s desperate.” -------Duke of Albany
And then my birthday is coming up, and I, Hayley Huber, will be eighteen.

Here’s a list of famous people and the things they did when they were eighteen.

Cleopatra was the Queen of Egypt.
George Washington was surveyor of Culpepper County.
Elisha Wood began his role as Frodo in The Lord of the Rings.
Mozart was employed as the court musician by the Prince of Salzburg.

Hmm. I wonder if there are any kingdoms open? Any eligible princes.

Also, God has been revealing Himself to me through Screwtape, from The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. I aspire to be like Lewis. He not only understood human nature, he understood how to write about it so that others could understand it. While I read, I’m constantly saying, “Hey! That’s exactly how I feel/think/act, but I thought I was the only one who felt/thought/acted that way. Weird. But nice. I’m not as mental as I thought I was.” And more than understanding and depicting human thought and emotion, Lewis understood God to a strong degree. He was able to use his amazing writing prowess to convey this knowledge to those who haven’t yet climbed as far up the godly ladder as he has.
Darn it. I’ve been asked twice in the past two weeks who my heroes are (for college interviews) and I couldn’t for the life of me come up with and answer (well, I did eventually, but only after much perspiring). C.S. Lewis! Duh!
Anyways, I encourage you all to read The Screwtape Letters. It’s a really short read, but it’s really good. And now I must leave you, because my eyes are being fried by the screen.

A Tribute

I just wanted to take a moment and write a tribute to a topic (subject, theme, idea) near and dear to my heart.

Friends.
I like them.
They’re one of God’s neatest inventions and He has recently been blessing me with an amazing bunch of them.

Some of them are braver than me, and they challenge me and encourage me to step out and be bold in my faith or in other areas of my life. Some of them are at my level and we can work together, encouraging one another because we totally and completely understand what the other is going through. Some of them I can help. Some of them are nuts and when we part company my stomach muscles hurt from laughing and my cheeks from smiling. Some of them are like me and it’s really exciting to discover the crazy ways in which we’re similar. Some of them aren’t at all like me and discerning what makes them tick is awfully exciting. Some of them are “cluster friends” and I meet with them in groups. Some of them are my “loner friends” and we hang out by ourselves. Some of them are constantly introducing me to new friends. Some of them make me think. Some of them give me a welcome break from thinking. Some of them are my age. Some of them are not. Some share my beliefs while others have worldviews that don’t align with mine (teaching me it’s possible to love those I don’t agree with).

All of them are a gift from God. All of them were put in my life for a reason. All of them have blessed me. And I wanted to thank you all. Thanks. I love you guys!