Words

I was thinking about how I wanted to write about what I read tonight, and come up with something deeply profound to enhance the beautiful words of a friend of mine. However, I realize that nothing I say will matter or come close to being able to surpass her pure simple words of truth.
I hope that she won't mind that I've quoted her, because I agree with everything her message said, and I want everyone to hear it:

"1.) People are imperfect: Romans 3:23 - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. This is a truth in the Bible. It should never surprise anyone when we fail. When I mess up, it should not surprise you. We are not good by nature, but through the Holy Spirit we are given the power to overcome sin. This is more true than I ever really realized. I am so imperfect it hurts me sometimes, and I have been realizing more about myself and about my struggles that helps me understand my sins.
2.) We are called to love. Let them know God’s love by the way we love our neighbor. There is something so beautiful and true and real about loving someone in the name of Jesus. People can see the difference between love rooted in Christ versus love not rooted in Christ.
3.) God is at work in everyone’s life around you. I realized the gravity and realness of this statement. I realized how perfect everything is, and how God places you in certain places for a reason. I think I have also realized that God has given me a sort of gift to bring Him up in conversation without too much hesitation or awkwardness… and that is why I am probably not going to be traveling in third world countries. God has gifted me in communication.
4.) Friendship is beautiful - Friends are intricate and God has put people in my life for a reason. Right now I have some amazing girlfriendships that I will never take for granted. They are deep. They are beautiful. They are real. They’re each different and each reveal something different about myself to me. They show me a little bit of who I am in a deeper way and bring out the good and the bad and show me how to defeat the bad and enhance the good. They teach me about how I relate to Christ.
5.) Spiritual warfare is so real - There are two parts of you that are constantly warring. There is the natural self, and there is the spiritual self. We are made new, so we are the spiritual self, but there is a battle between the natural self trying to get back out sometimes. When we feed the natural self, it wins the small battles, but when we feed the spiritual self we can stand up under anything that comes our way.
This weekend I made mistakes. This weekend I loved fully. This weekend I witnessed to someone about what Christ has done in my life. This weekend I cried. This weekend my heart broke. This weekend God picked up my heart, myself, and carried me to an alter to pray. This weekend, I remembered that I am beloved. This weekend I delighted in singleness. This weekend I poured my heart out. This weekend I debated apologetics. This weekend, I came home, and this weekend I haven’t regretted it."