God Uses Other People to Help Us
A friend loves at all times.
PROVERBS 17:17
Sometimes we can’t stand up on our own, so God uses other people to help us rise as well as to stabilize us until we can walk with him into our future. One of the people he used to help me overcome my past was my friend Holly. I like to describe the way that she came into my life as being one of those people who stick their arm in the elevator just as the doors are already closing, and there is nothing you can do about it. Once in the elevator, she is not one of those who follow proper elevator etiquette by keeping a safe distance, looking forward, and making no eye contact. Rather, Holly will get right into your personal space and begin chatting with you like she has been your best friend since birth; and by the time you are ready to get off the elevator, both you and your entire extended family have an invitation to her upcoming Christmas party.
Holly was precisely the carefree, fun-loving, no-concept-of-personal-space kind of friend I needed to help pull me out of my reserved, distant, resistant shell. I remember when she took me shopping to help diversify my wardrobe of black, black, and more black. I was so stiff, awkward, timid, and scared of anything that would heighten any awareness of my body. But Holly simply loved me where I was, and by using her gifts of friendship, laughter, and acceptance, she helped me to gradually introduce navy blue to my wardrobe.
I always felt so uncomfortable around her open and vivacious demeanor because it was the total opposite of my inhibited one. Yet it was exactly what I needed to help me stand up and start walking away from my past into my future. I am so grateful she did not give up on me, because God used her to help me find the real me hidden beneath all the layers of defense mechanisms I had formulated.
If we are willing to embrace the discomfort and awkwardness of change, then we will start to see both God and ourselves differently. Often God uses other people in our lives to show us his love and to initiate the growth he desires.
MOMENT OF REFLECTION
How has God used other people to communicate to you how much he loves you?