Have you ever sat back and thought about all of the different people in your life - some have come and gone, others have just been there forever, some are newer to your life, and a few have just stuck close by you through it all.
Well, lately I have been thinking a lot about that and have felt overwhelmingly blessed. What caused me to first start thinking about it was all of the weddings I have been to so far this summer. Every single one of them has been from a completely separate "world" of mine - meaning, they all were from different circles of friends and none of them know about each other, but they are all near and dear to me.
The first wedding was of my friends Trevor and Janet. I met Trevor my freshman year at Whitworth. We didn't become close friends until my sophomore year when he became one of my closest friends in Spokane. I met Janet because of Trevor. She didn't go to Whitworth, but after graduating from UW, moved to Spokane, which is when I started getting to know her. Their wedding, to me, represented my Whitworth world. This is the newest of all of my circles of friends, but there are a few, such as Trevor, who have come to mean a lot to me.
The next wedding was the day after Trevor's wedding and it was for my friend Stead. I met Stead when I was a sophomore in high school after I switched to public school at Tahoma and also began attending youth group at Maple Valley Presbyterian Church. While I didn't know the girl he married at all, this was an exciting wedding for me to go to just because Stead is one of those quality guys who is so outstanding and you just know some day would find the most amazing girl and they would be so happy ... well, it happened and now he's married and it was such a beautiful ceremony and celebration! Stead's wedding represented, to me, my MVPC circle. These people have been with me longer than my Whitworth circle, so they know me quite a bit better and many of them have remained very close, dear friends even though we all scattered to different colleges and don't get to see each other all of the time. This is a very special group of people to me!
The third wedding that I attended this month was for my friend Amanda. I have know Amanda's family from about the time I was 7 years old. Amanda's parents were Word of Life missionaries, so I got to see their family at any WOL events I went to, from camp to Superbowl to T.I. or even just when they would come and visit our church. Amanda's parents, Pete and Deb, have had a significant influence in my life, especially in my walk with the Lord. Getting to be a part of Amanda's wedding (I sang a solo) was like being with family and it was wonderful! I got to stay with her brother and his wife, which are both wonderful friends of mine that I love connecting with when we see each other. This wedding represented my WOL circle, but even more so, my camp circle, which is a group of people that will always be close to my heart. They are people that watched me grow up, gave me a chance to serve and use my gifts, challenged me in my walk with the Lord, prayed for me, and were people that I got to serve God side-by-side with. What an amazing group of people!
All of these people and circles that they come from have come to mean to much to me over the years. Some of them I see often, others I rarely see, some of them I don't know when I will see them this side of heaven, but they all have had a significant influence in my life in one way or another, and for that I am feeling immensely blessed!
God, You have been so good to me and constantly surrounded me with loving, gracious people. Thank you for the gift of friendship and for my many brothers and sisters in Christ that I have had the privilege of getting to know!
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