No, I don’t have good news on the Christmas picture I was trying to take for the blog. The camera and I have spent the weekend in two different rooms so that our relationship could have a little time to heal. Hopefully there will be a reconciliation and a victory soon. You’ll know it when you see it. And, boy, will it be a let down.
There’s something else I wanted to share with you. I’ve got to keep it short because I don’t want to take much time away from my man. He just got home last night from the deer lease. I want to write on it while it’s on my mind though. I just have to marvel from time to time over the unlikely loves God brings together in His family here on earth. The way people in Christ can become dear friends and traveling companions with individuals they’d never have thought to get to know. I love how, because the Spirit of Christ lives in us and He originated the differences, we can come to love people we might not have thought we’d like. It’s a thought I have often but I have some fresh imprints on my heart and mind today that compel me to write.
Travis Cottrell, my praise team leader on the road for ten years, has been in town this week at Champion Forest Baptist Church as the guest artist in their magnificent Christmas pageant. Our families are really great friends and Melissa and I had already gotten to see him between practices. Angela, Travis’s wife (and stunning proof of how much God loves him), and their three terrific kids, Jack, Lily Kate, and Levi, flew in yesterday afternoon to join Travis and Keith got home last night. My man was anxious to see them so we headed to Champion Forest Baptist for church this morning to worship with them and have some lunch. I watched those two men hug. So happy to see each other. Crazy about each other. Watched them sit at the end of our row together. And as different as night and day and one almost old enough to be the other’s father. Keith the consummate outdoorsman who shoots clay pigeons for fun and Travis the gifted artist who can write a musical on paper without even sitting at a keyboard. The chords are all in his head.
Both mighty men but so incredibly different. I couldn’t help but take it in again at lunch. While Ang and I were in the throes of kid-ville, Travis and Keith sat at the end of the table and gabbed like they’d hung out all their lives. Travis lets Keith talk to him about deer and Keith lets Travis talk to him about music projects. Travis could easily talk pro football because, interestingly, he’s a huge addict, but Keith, just as oddly, is not a fan. Both, however, love Jesus, love their wives, and cry over something tender faster than their wives. I don’t suppose conversation comes naturally to either one of them but they make it happen. Because they’re family. The Moores and the Cottrells have been halfway around the world together and have shared more life – joys and crises – in the last ten years than you can imagine.
Two months ago Keith sent Travis a pair of Lucchese cowboy boots with a handwritten letter about how the Tennessee Volunteers had come to the aid of the Texans at the Alamo (yes, we remember). It was priceless. Vintage Keith. And Travis loved them. They are an odd pair, Keith Moore and Travis Cottrell. One of how many odd pairs, I wonder, in the Body of Christ? This entry is a tribute to the unlikely loves Christ Jesus brings together. I’m inviting you to share yours. (Short enough for us to read them all!) One of the most marvelous things about loving Jesus is all the folks we end up unexpectedly loving, too.
I love you. I really do. And if a blog community of women who have never laid eyes on one another isn’t an unlikely love, I don’t know one.
Your committed Siesta. (P.S. I just had to hop back on and say that I LOVE YOUR TESTIMONIES OF UNLIKELY LOVES!! Siestas, be sure to read these comments! The stories of unlikely lives God brought together will bring such joy to your heart and praise to your lips. You will marvel over the one written by the young widow and laugh over the one written by the woman who has a fear of flying then married the pilot. You’ll love all of them! Also be sure to add yours. This is one of my favorite comment sections yet. Way to bring God some fun glory! And you’re right, Siesta. He and we are the most unlikely loves of all.)
My “unlikely love” is my husband’s ex-wife. Yep, you read that correctly. She is such a treasure to me! I could go on and on about what a wonderful woman she is. Even though we are very different, we love to be together … and serve the Lord together! She came to know Christ after I continued inviting her to the women’s retreats at my church … and she finally came. NOW we coordinate the women’s retreat together as a team. Isn’t that awesome?!? Sometimes Jesus can cause you to go way beyond where society tells you to go, just to reach people in His precious Name.
My favorite is when you meet someone who you think you have NOTHING in common with only to find out how much you actually DO have in common.
For years I had been a member of the Maw Maw club(not a member of the popular club)and it seemed as if I was going to finally become a member of the “desirables”. Our womens group was to make a trip to Houston for Women Of Faith with the advance by Kay Arthur and I was going to get to go with the “desirables”. There were two women who were also going who were part of the Maw Maw club with me. I just knew I was going to get “stuck” with them in their room. And yes, that is exactly what happened.But God knows what He is doing when He directs(protects)our steps.One of the women in our room had a deep hunger for God that matched mine. We went to see Kay Arthur and some blond haired woman named Beth Moore prayed before Kay stood up to speak. Little did I know how this blond haired woman would become a fantastic mentor.(thank you girl)
Anyhoo, God began to show me that it was fine to be a Maw Maw. What it wanted was not what I needed. And what I wanted to avoided became the best blessing I could have asked for. She is still a dear friend some 7 years later. She knows me and pushes me to be the woman of God He wants me to be.
Being a member of the Maw Maw club has its benefits. 🙂
Wow-so true! Perhaps the one person who sticks out for me most is the woman who “loved me into the Kingdom.” Ann and I had NOTHING in common; she was a military wife, a stay at home mother, a Christian who walked the walk and talked the talk and someone who would share what Jesus meant to her with a treestump if given half a chance. I was a single, working professional, ‘cultural Christian’ who wasn’t much interested in hanging out with an evangelical. Normally I would have run in the opposite direction from someone like her; however, for “some reason” I loved spending time with Ann and her family. (Of course in retrospect it was obviously God’s doing.)
Five months after seeing Jesus lived out in Ann’s life and knowing that she loved me through His eyes and with His heart, I stopped playing Christian and gave my life to the Lord.
Although I seldom see her anymore, I know that she is there if I need someone to pray for me or to walk with me through a decision. Knowing her changed me forever.
BTW, I made both King Ranch Chicken and Texas Sheet Cake this past weekend (2 potlucks!) both were a raving success. Even though I’m not a “professional”, I used Rotel’s Extra Hot version of diced tomatoes and chilies!
my “unlikely love” is my husband. i told my mother and friends for years that i needed a “big, tall” man. my hubby is 5’7″ and 155 lbs dripping wet! i wanted someone from Texas. he is from chicago. i’m from the country. he’s from the city. i am a homebody. he likes to go out and socialize. i’m a saver. he’s a spender. i’m a planner. he’s spontaneous…
when we first got married, many of these differences felt overwhelming and almost like God had made some sort of “mistake” in bringing us together. but we have begun to really appreciate each other’s differences and see how God uses them to balance our relationship. i think the more we have learned to value each other’s personality and strengths, the sweeter our love is growing.
it’s also a comfort to know that we’re not the only ones that appeared to be “mis-matched.” haha!
Ya know how you meet someone and – to put in nicely – you DON’T click? Well, I’ve learned that I should sit back and wait because we’ll be best friends before long.
My closest friend from high-school is a male, Asian, atheist. As a Christian conservative, this friendship is bizarre. We met while arguing against each other in ethics class. We’re miles away, but our families are still close…sharing Christ with him for more than 20 years. (Your prayers are welcomed!)
On Sunday, I said goodbye to a girlfriend who is moving to the mid-west. She attended our church saying that she doesn’t like “seeker-friendly” churches. My passion is evangelism, so I felt like asking, “so seeker-UNfriendly churches are your cup of tea?” Fast forward 18 months later…great friends.
When I meet someone and we don’t connect, I just feel like saying, “whether you like it or not – which you won’t – we’ll be best friends before long. You just wait!”
Love in Sweet Jesus,
Susan
I was just thinking almost the same thing last night… had my accountability buddies (we are 4 strong) and their hubbies over for some dinner. Thinking how we are so different, but they are so precious to me…even when I think not. We are an odd brew, but I am so grateful that they have prayed for, with, over and on their knees for me for years. Our season of life has changed and we have gone from once a week to lunch once a month… but I will so treasure our LOVE for Jesus and love for each other! Thanks for sharing and loving your family so much. It keeps me encouraged!
I can’t believe the timliness of this, but I just returned from my afternoon study group where we listened to the fourth installment of your Wising Up series about Friendships. Wow!!! I was so blessed by the lesson, but sad too as I was missing my best friend who is traveling because of a death in her family. Sigh. One of my favorite things about this blog is the online community. There are SO MANY women of God here, and I love checking out what’s going on in their ‘your’ worlds. Thank you for being a blessing and for ministering to me and each other. Love you bunches!
Almost 8 years ago I was asked to be the leader of a Mom’s Group at church. I was a very young believer and when I was asked to lead I said I would pray about it, mostly because I wanted to be sure they had asked the right person! At this point in my Christian walk I knew how to find two books of the bible: Genesis and Revelation. I wasn’t exactly sure I could be a Girl Scout leader much less a Christian leader. This insecurity was doubled when I received my roster and Jenifer was on the list. Not only was she beautiful, and smart, but she was (GASP!) a pastors wife! I was very intimidated by her and when I first met her I remember coming home and thinking that there wasn’t any way I could lead a group with this woman in it! She, of all people, would see that I was highly unqualified! To make matters worse, she was quiet, only saying the perfect things at the perfect time. I on the other hand could be quiet if I tried real hard, but often chose not to. I never thought in a MILLION years that she would be the friend whom I could share my darkest hours and my greatest joys. I definitely think God has a great sense of humor, because Jen supported me when My Mister went to DTS, with thoughts of being (GASP!) a pastor. My heart cannot contain my gratitude that God picked her and I to be friends, because I don’t even want to think about how different my life would be had he let me do the picking!
Just this weekend I was talking with friends about all the people in the Body with whom I never believed I’d find common ground, yet today, I’d have to say I see God’s hand more clearly in those relationships than many of the ones that seemed to come so much “easier” initially.
My unlikely love is also my husband. We’ve scored exactly opposite on any personality test we’ve ever taken. Our only common areas on spiritual gifts test are that we are NOT artistic, musical, or handy (are you picturing my home?). Outside of knowing Jesus our marriage almost crumbled. In fact, that tragedy is what brought us to the Lord. With one fail swoop, our Father reached down, grabbed us both by the scruff our necks, pulled us out of the pit and set us on a firm foundation- he is Christ the Lord! Hallelluiah! Sisters, as sure as I’m sitting here typing, He saved our marriage and our lives. The couple who was destined to divorce with little common ground is learning to love Jesus and each other more every day. Thanks for the question, Miss Beth, it surely has me reflecting and praising our Lord. Bless you all, love in Jesus, Kim in PA
My friend Rachel is 23 and I am 40 (a very fun and funky 40). Four years ago when I went through a divorce, Rachel was a Hope College student (I an alumni) and I was invited to lead these students on a mission trip to Jamaica. Rachel and I both have wacky personalities, a love for people and the nations. THEN…this summer, I was asked to lead a team of educators to South Africa for Vox United and come to find out Rachel was on the team! We roomed together and I felt like I was in college again. We cracked ourselves up all the time! We are both single and desperately want to serve our God by blessing the orphan and widow in developing countries. I wonder where God will send Rachel and I next;) GO GLOBAL!
First I would have to say this community of siesta’s. That just blows my mind.
But a little closer to home, the 4 ladies God pulled together to minister to women. (“Freedom’s Call”) Each one of us is at a different point in life, but God has so woven our hearts together. I can’t imagine a day without one of them! They are so precious to me.
This makes me almost “homesick” for heaven, and even more excited about Siesta Fiesta!
Blessings to you all!
stephanie
Well, I couldn’t resist this one. Mine is one of my dearest friends in the world named Betty. She’s 76; I’m 36. We worked together at a hospital in Ft. Worth years ago. I was just a kid and she was a wise woman who invested in me. She has been one of the strongest spiritual influences in my life, if not THE strongest. We have spend loads of time together over the last 18 years even though we’ve not lived in the same city since 1994. We have loved, laughed, cried, and praised God together. I will always be grateful to God for bringing such a gift into my life.
Beth,
I sware, I love you. I haven’t checked the blog in a few days and just read the one on the camera. I can’t quit laughing.
My best friend and I are two of those people you would never put together. As I read about your camera experience, I thought of her the whole time. She’s too tight to go spend that much, but if she did, she would have thrown it out the door by now. She doensn’t want to know how or why something works. She just wants it to work. Don’t show her how, just get it done. I would have got on Consumer Reports, Ebay, and 20 other websites, researched where to get the best deal, created an Excel spreadsheet to compare all the options on each camera, etc. She would have bought it, brought it to me and said make it work and when I get done take the pictures off of it for me. We are like night and day, but we have one common thread, and that is our love for Jesus. God has given us such an insane love for one another that’s it’s unexplainable. We are both the sister to one another that we never had. We could kill each other most of the time, but we wouldn’t take anything for our friendship. I told her a long time ago that I believe God just smiled down on us one day and said I’m going to bless those girls and He melted our hearts together. He’s awesome and I praise Him for the awesome people He puts in my life. I love you and your ministry. You are a continual blessing in my life Beth. Thank you for all you are.
While in college and when I was first married a dear “Titus 2” lady named Ginger from our church took me under her wing and discipled me. This lasted for about 3 years and then we moved away. Thank Jesus for the internet we stayed in touch through e-mail and IM. It is only by God’s grace that we continued to stay in touch and communicate with each other because a year later we lost our two year old son, Jake, in a car accident.
As only God can ordain, my unlikely friend had also lost a son and walked me through many a trial. She was such an unlikely friend and I am so grateful for our Lord for “unlikely friends.”
Beth, I don’t know if you remember but you were too! You wrote me such a sweet letter after his death. Words don’t describe how that touched me that you took the time to do that. I still have it.
Praise the Lord for blogs, IM’s,and e-mails that we can all love and encourage each other!
Much Love to YOU!
Kasey Lowery Ewing
http://www.theewingfam.com
I would say the unlikely loves in my life are my parents! Mom is the most soft spoken, soft hearted, kindest woman you could ever meet. She loves God and Loves others and it shows. She loves to lavish others with surprises and she is very touchy feely. My dad on the other hand is very stubborn and hard to know. Hates to show affection and at times can be a bit harsh. Yet they are in love again!
The unlikely pair God has formed is with the church God has us at. My husband is a first time pastor of 2.5 years. I am the full fledged city girl, and God has dropped us in the middle of (not the worst case but bad no doubt)a rural town. We have to drive 20 minutes for decent groceries and of course Starbucks. But God has formed some lasting friendships here that will never die. My kids(all 5 of them) have a new set of grandparents that we all dearly love. You’re right the love we can have as the body of Christ is AWESOME!!!
Thanks for sharing! I love you and your family. We will have one great reunion in heaven!
Amanda
Daniel is mine.
I am a late 40’s, white woman, married, and fairly sheltered.
Daniel is a black man,30,recovering drug addict, former gang member, and former prison inmate. Clean for 5 years.
He is my customer.
We love Jesus. We are both examples of a praying Grandmother. (Don’t ever underestimate the power of a praying Grandmother, by the way.)
Daniel and I aren’t that different ya’ll. Two old pit dwellers that crawled on out with God’s grace.
Amanda and Beth, if you have not seen this yet, please go check it out! Doesn’t even matter if it’s legit or not, it’s the message that is sweet.
Subject: Logan’s Calf
A remarkable phone call from a 12-yr old boy to Houston radio station KSBJ FM 89.3. So profound the station has it posted on their website. Click below to listen to it. It’s short (2 minutes).
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zCdZwitrNoY
I attended Champion Forest Baptist church for a couple of years,when I lived in Houston. That is a good church.
I love God’s sovereignty in every aspect of life, including love. When I graduated from college and was freaked out about what I’d do with my life, I “told” God: “I want nothing to do with cities, corporations, computers, law, or government.”
Needless to say, about a year later I took a job as a computer tech rep at a legal corporation in the heart of the city of St. Paul.
Not only so, but not long thereafter I met my husband: a research analyst for the Minnesota Senate who was on his way into his first year of law school!
Believe it or not, I’ve since become fascinated with all of those things (my husband included!) and listen to more talk radio shows on politics than him!
God knew.
Grace and peace to you, Beth, and to all you wonderful ladies!
Linda
wow, this blog and one of the responses totally spoke to me, and i REALLY needed to hear it NOW. thank you:)
My unlikely love went home to her precious Lord three weeks ago after a courageous battle with cancer. She was in her sixties and had never had children. I’m in my forties and the mother of three rowdy boys, two of whom are in the throes of puberty (come quickly, Lord Jesus). I thought I was getting “stuck” working with her at AWANAs. Instead, we have the distinction of being the only ADULTS ever called down by the AWANA commander because we were laughing so loud and so hard. From her I learned how beautifully and gracefully we can enter the later years of our life when we pour ourselves out for others.
I just thought of another **unlikely love** I have recently posted on my blog about this, too….Mary (mother of Jesus) and Elizabeth (her cousin) were brought together by God and had a purely bonding experience for 3 solid months!!
Sometimes I think how unlikely it is that I am where I am today in my realationship with God! The odds were stacked high against me as a child who grew up not going to church. Not listening to christian music, not having a church family. It is sad for me to think about how unlikely it was that the two of us should meet! But we did! Now I have a church life, church family and a house full of prayer and christian music. And two amazing daughters who will never be able to say that their realationship with our God was unlikley!
Dear Beth,
Ms Mary would be my most unlikely friend. If we could choose our friends she probably would not have picked me, nor I her. We are definitely opposites. Mary is a take-charge kind of person; I’m not. She knows how to put an engine together; I don’t.
A few years ago, I had just completed a Henry Blakaby study entitled, On Mission with God. In the book he said to look around and see where God is at work and ask Him to let you join Him. Soon after, I heard Mary give a testimony of what God had done that day at the jail. Many had come to know Christ. God spoke to my heart and clearly said, “I am at work there…why don’t you get involved?” I did.
I have never seen anyone who cares for the lost more than Mary.
I am so thanful to call her friend.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.
Isaiah 55:8
Isn’t He glorious!
Love you too, Beth.
Mary
My college roommate and I- the night we first met we had a lot in common as we were both dating ROTC guys and we wore the same shade of green to the Dining Out. Then we roomed together and found out she has a much looser definition of clean than I, she liked to hit snooze a zillion times before getting up (and before I had to get up), she “swept” the carpet and I vacummed… She was my matron of honor and remains a great friend.
I laughed at the story of the siesta who hates to fly and married a pilot- my husband is a military pilot who LOVES to fly. He is also afraid of heights! T.G.
I thought about this last night and again this morning and could not think of one opposite. Then I began to think that perhaps in many of my friendships, I am the odd one! Hee hee!
Won’t Heaven be marvelous with all the time of gathering and sharing stories? Just like these comments, we will glory in the One who gave us the capacity to love.
Thanks for loving Jesus like you do, Beth! I love Him more because of you.
Hi Beth!
My mom made the KING RANCH CHICKEN and i just had some.. YUM-0! It was SOOO good! Tell Keith he has a winning recipe! thanks for sharing 🙂
My dearest friend who I share leading a bible study with is the complete opposite of me…
She is my prayer partner, my right and left hand in any endeavor, and a joy to be around. We are always amazed how God uses us together, and most of all why He brought us together.
I am a very outspoken sanguine and she is a quiet meloncholy. God has used the us to bring out abilities the other would not discover on our own.
Beth,
When I was a young mother(I was in my late 20’s) I joined the Women’s group at the church we attended. There was an older woman, about 60, who led the group. She and I had very different opinions about things and often rubbed each other the wrong way. And then the Lord put us together on a project where we had to spend most of a day together-just the two of us. By the end of that day, I found her to be one of the bravest women I had ever met and an inspiration of faith. We became friends and worked together on many projects until her husband retired and they moved away. She has gone home to be with the Lord and I thank Him for all He taught me through her.
I have to say this Blogging Community! (and I am not a computer person… it has made me try to be one! : ) … but the JOY, LOVE and BOND I feel with these women blows me away! I can’t wait to read everyones posts, comments, etc… and I love to pray for these precious Siestas! Isn’t that so Jesus! He can give you a huge heart for people you don’t even know… I love that about Him… so cool.. I know we are all SO different …but I feel like I know and love you girls! I am thankful for my “Siestas”
Can’t wait till San Antonio…I am going to hug each and everyone of you! Emmy : )
I wish we could have a Siesta lock-in at some church gym one night and just all sit in our pajama pants and eat and talk and talk and eat and stay up all night. That is so what I thought in reading all these posts.
What sweet siestas in Christ this blog has formed. I’ve cried, smiled and held back tears while reading these sweet stories of God’s providence and favor. He goes before us and is our Banner.
Love and blessings, Jill
First of all, Beth, thanks for encouraging us to read all of the posts. I have had tears in my eyes as I did so.
My first unlikely friend was also the first person I ever was able to step outside my rigid Christianity for. I had moved (again) to Kansas City and had five little babies and no friends. My husband’s boss was involved in politics and knew they interested me and directed a high powered political fundraiser to give me a call which she did because he gave her candidates money! I was so grateful to have someone to talk to and she could not believe she was getting stuck with someone whose life consisted of diapers, naps and the Disney classic roundup. I say now that I just MADE her be my friend, but the truth is I just loved her so much I couldn’t help myself. She had no kids and smoked and swore like a sailor and all I could think about was how great she was and how much God loved her–and this was NOT how I’d been before. A year into our relationship her husband left and then she just started stopping by my house on the way home from work if she saw us sitting at the table for dinner. She had had a dreadful childhood and seen all the hypocrisy that she could handle, but piece by piece, Jesus loved her to Himself. One year after that I moved to New Jersey and she had to go with me on a visit just to be sure it would be ok.
It was. That’s when I met Alicia, a Jew I would gladly do two more years in the Garden State for. We celebrated Hanukkah and Advent together and even when we moved to New York City, our friendship remained.
In Manhattan, God led us to a school at an Episcopal Cathedral–a place that could be so wacky you’d swear there was a hair salon in it. But there were also a tiny handful of dear believers and by then all my “shouldas” were gone and Jesus’s love carried all of us. My husband lost his job and we lost everything, one best friend got cancer and then his wife did too. And in the midst of that crazy “I believe there are lots of paths to God” place, God used suffering to show me what the body of Christ was supposed to look like and it was a holy thing. Groceries dropped off at apartment doors, meals prepared for weeks on end, money passed between people who didn’t have any. Even now it reduces me to tears. And just when people were opening up and really hearing about Jesus…we had to move again.
This time back to Kansas City but to a suburb and oh we were a broken lot and everyone else seemed to be doing great. Day by day, year by year, we put down roots and tried reaching out. In August my husband and I separated. My walking partner, suddenly morphed from a suburban matron into a passionate friend who checked on me every day and talked sense into me when I thought I was crazy. My sorrow gave others permission to share theirs and it turns out they all weren’t doing as great as I’d thought. Then my friend’s son was diagnosed with a brain tumor and as we all shared, something began to happen. Wednesday night was a worship service to send them off to San Francisco for his surgery. This morning my daughter and his sister met a group of 100 kids on the stage of their public high school for prayer and just before I read your post his mom called with the news that the tumor is out and the doctors amazed. A bunch of us put together a basket of love for the sister who is here while they are gone and today one of the moms said to me, “You know last night as people were bringing things by, I thought about what you told me about that community in New York. And then I thought, it’s happening here.”
She’s right. Unlikely looks different every time you turn around and oh, how grateful I am to be included.
This was WAY too long, but I may never write again. It was just so extraordinary coming on this day.
Bless you all.
Great post, Beth. My unlikely pair is my 7th grade Sunday school teacher. I used to babysit for her kids, now she studies the word with me and holds me accountable. She counsels me on child rearing and isn’t afraid to ask me the hard questions. We are great friends. As a side note, she was visiting us on Saturday visitation one day and we were not answering the door (parents weren’t saved). She was standing out front and my sister came riding up on her bike and rode right into the garage, parked her bike and went inside and shut the garage door! God must be in it, if she could love us after that!
My best friend and I have been friends for 9 years. At first we were not in Christ. We believed but did not live it. Then things happened that changed everything for both of us.
My friends daughter was murdered by a stalker on her way to Bible study. We all worked together so I was friends with her daughter also. This was the most horrible thing to ever happen. What devestation and dispair.
Then my grandmother pasted away. A beautiful Godly women. Again devestation and dispair.
One day 4 months after her death I got the call from our beloved Father. I started going to church the next Sunday. I called my friend and she said she would go with me the following Sunday. I accepted Christ and was Babtised a couple of months later. Oh the joy!
Now we are going to church,loving God, and growing in our faith together. I could not have asked for a better best friend to share this journey. We have so much in common. Our husbands even work in the same field. The kicker is she is 20 years older than I. She is my moms age. LOL
My highly unlikely, miracle match is my daughter’s husband. I had written briefly here before, that he was a Jehova Witness but there is more, he is a completely different race! I thought maybe God was trying to kill me!!! (not really!!!LOL) God dropped him in a family with roots deep in prejudice. But I had the privilege to watch God do many miracles. One of which was my son in law’s salvation. He now loves Jesus and our “former” prejudice family adores him and his family (which are still Jehovah witnesses). But God has put us all together and I am forever grateful.
Dear anonymous who wrote for prayer for herself and her husband. I am praying for you. 2 years ago our marriage was in alot of trouble as well and He who raised Jesus from the dead raised my heart back to life… and my husbands. Please know you are loved, you are prayed for and you matter so much. Your internet siesta..
Sandi Krakowski
My husband and I are the perfect match even though we are completly different. I was (still am:) the rocker chick type and he was a frat boy when we met. i never thought we would be together, but God knew! Even today almost eight years later, I am still trying to get him in some vintage style bootcut jeans, but he will not stray from his beloved khakis and polo! I am thankful to God for him, I love that man so much, even in his khakis, he still makes me swoon!
ps-is that how you spell khaki?
Ok beth, i already posted once but it wasnt about my unlikely love so here it goes….. my unlikely love is my mentor Rene Meek, she is 42 and im only 19 but we are best friends and she is my mentor and i love her like crazy! she is veary shy,quite,ahtletic,and can sing amazingly! and im not any of that! in fact were like polar oppisets but we love eachother and the lord and i know we will be friends forever!
Hmmm…
Such a fun post. And, I didn’t comment on the last one, but Mrs. Beth…the camera?! I am still rolling on the floor. Seriously, bless your heart. I read the post to my Mom out loud and all she said was, “That is so me!” I agreed. I would gladly help you, but I know you want to do this on your own! So, we will let you!
As for unliely loves…I would first have to say this blog and the MANY “friends” I have met. I just can’t wait to meet them in person (I’ve just got to get my ticket, though!)
But, in real like, I would have to say my “old” friend from my church. She and I hit it off at a youth retreat. Me, the single girl, she, the mother of 4. I love it and her! It was so unlikely, but has blessed me much!
Lindsee
How awesome is our GOD who answers prayers of a lonely country girl, mother of 4, farm wife. I prayed for a friend who loved Jesus, and I wouldn’t have to travel to town all the time to have fellowship. We both moved into houses literally right across the road with in one month of each other. She is 11 yrs younger and had lived on a school bus made house traveling America evangelizing, sharing Jesus’s love. She and her family have taught me so much about how different we all are but are all loved the same by our Great Savior. Thank you Beth for all of your Bible studies. You are truly blessed with the ability to speak and write about God’s love for us.
Its amazing how God brings certain friends into our lives for a time and then takes them out of our lives due to a variety of situations. After moving to start my new job I found myself far away from so many close friends.
God has so blessed my heart with a verse we read in BSF the other night: Is 42: 6 – I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you.
As girls we often seek protection and companionship and imagining the Lord holding me by the hand and watching over me gave me such an amazing sense of friendship with the Lord that I hope to never forget.
I have an unlikely love in my closest friend. I met her my first year in college, and we had a mind-to-mind connection at first… so we got each other’s allusions and could finish each other’s sentences before we made the effort to really build heart-to-heart.
She plays extrovert to my introvert, displays the grace of speaking direct truth to my more timid approach, and we’ve had all the fun, tears and joys of watching our rust rub off as we’ve sharpened each other. It might just be in this relationship that I’ve really seen the power of being someone’s sister in Christ. We’re in this thing for good, thanks to God’s great grace!
Adding this because I thought you might enjoy it: somewhere in the past few years we started calling each other “other half” and not even my beloved new husband could take it over — at my wedding a few months ago, she toasted him as “the significant other of my other half.”
~amy
The Tennessean (newspaper) just had an article on this sort of thing.
It is amazing who the Lord brings into our lives so unexpectedly.
Blessings,
Karla
Beth,
God has blessed me so richly with so many friends in the Lord, people I’d never chosen for myself and could more than likely ruin if the relationship / friendship thingee rested on me, but God in His Divine plan is so out of this world and I benefit from the greatest blessing of all, Him loving me and sending me so many wonderful friends, all best friends to bless my life in Him. I am leaning closer everyday to beginning my own blogging season, just haven’t gotten there yet ! I love it ! God Speed and God Bless !
In HIS NAME !!!! JesusChick NC
Hmmm how fun to reflect on our differences in Christ. We had our Deacon’s (& spouses) & Staff Christmas party last night. You have never seen a more diverse group of believers! One table was so rowdy we couldn’t hear a thing and at the opposite end of the room was the “more mature” gray haired group who just shook their heads and smiled. Life can be so amusing when we accept one another unconditionally with love rather than criticize differences. I can’t help but look at our group of deacons collectively and think of what it must have been for Christ with his disciples. We always tend to think of them so seriously, but I’ll bet they were just like the rest of us.
BTW my husband and I are as different as night and day as well, as are our children. The good thing is I can tell people their “warped” sense of humor is because of him!
Amen and amen. I’m loving all the stories – thank you!
Unlikey loves — my family! DH & myself are truely each other’s completer. Then, each child came out of the womb different as can be! They can appreciate their differences and love each other deeply. My pray is that the Lord continues to keep them close to each other as they begin to enter adulthood.