Thankful

I love November! I love the fall weather, Thanksgiving, time with family and friends, birthdays....the list goes on! But most importantly, I love that this month really gives me a time to focus on what I truly am thankful for. I know that I should be aware of this all the time, but really November just brings those thoughts out.


I recently have really realized how thankful I am for Godly friends. I am so blessed to be surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses here at Baylor and even other universities across the state.


A few days ago, a very close friend of mine and I had coffee together to just catch up. Of course, our conversation was immediately focused on God and what He has been doing in my life. I love that this is a typical conversation for us =)


Anyways, he shared with me this verse and it has since been on my mind:


"But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head."
Psalm 3:3


We began discussing this verse and what it meant to us. For me, this vividly paints the greatest picture of my Father. Think about it. He comes to us and lifts our head.


The mental picture I have is of a small child hanging their head and their father simply coming and with just two fingers, lifting their head and looking at them as if to say "It's ok. I'm here."


No matter what we are going through, our Father is there to lift us up and let us know "it's ok, I'm here." In our embarrassment, our shame, our guilt, our anger, our shyness, our complete failures, He is always there letting us know that He is God and He is there.


No matter what.


This same friend posted this today:
"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!"
1 John 3:1


This just continued to paint the picture for me of a little child with their Dad. I love how one friend has brought so much encouragement to me over the last few weeks. I am so thankful for friends and so blessed to have such Godly influences in my life. 


Thank you, for sharing these verses with me. You will never know how much your friendship means to me. I am so blessed to know you and I cannot wait to see how God uses you in His kingdom!