Yesterday, I was reminded of the fact that God sees our hearts and knows even our unspoken requests. I randomly ended up at Starbucks last night with my roomate before she went to her class. As I was sitting and looking out the window I realized that my friend A., who I have not seen in a year, was walking in the door. She was another friend who had attended the church that I left last summer. We had both lost touch and I truly thought I would never see her again. A. is never on this side of town and had stopped in to see a friend on his shift. After my roomate left, we ended up spending the rest of the evening catching up with each other. It was as if no time had passed at all. She too is moving on with her life...in two short weeks she will moving out of state. It was comforting to hear of her new opportunities and to help her pack up a bit. It was like God knew just how much I longed to see her, and he made sure it happened even without our planning it. What a set up. :)

Speaking of friends, I had an incredible time this past Saturday catching up with some old friends from the Cracker Barrel days. J. just returned from Iraq and invited me out for a BBQ. I was a little leary of any drama that might take place between a few of us and almost didn't go. But instead of drama the peace of God was evident. This post could be an add-on to the bonfire post a couple of weeks ago...same kind of thing. Relationships are precious, a necessity for sharing the love of Christ with those around us. I caught up with C. who is about to head back to the west coast. I played my guitar with J.'s roomie. I hugged and chatted with P.'s new girlfriend...lol...much better than I had hoped for. :) All night long, I kept thinking...heaven must be a bit like this. There was a peace that pervaded us that night. My heart just loved the people around me as we shared about our lives and ate steak off the grill. I didn't want the evening to end.

Although my last post spoke of disappointment I have to admit that truly God has blessed my relationships. I look forward to the future as this season ends and a new one begins. There is a newfound freedom in my life. I can live freely before God and still love people where they are. At the same time, I can love people where they are and still live freely before God.