6 years…..

“Friendship is a deep oneness that develops when two people, speaking the truth in love to one another, journey together to the same horizon.” ~Tim Keller

“Friendship is born at that moment when one man says to another: “What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . .”” ~C.S. Lewis

 

The gorgeous bride the in the picture is my dear friend, and now former roommate.  When I initially moved in to her small apartment, I don’t think either of us expected it to last 6 years.  Our friends have heard us laugh many times about how opposite we are.  She is an introvert; I am an extrovert.  She is organized; I am chaotic.   The list can (and does) go on.  At times, we wondered what God was thinking when He created this relationship.

We have walked with each other through dark nights and bright days.  She has challenged my opinions and helped strengthen my beliefs.  Through discussion and questions, she has taught me how to consider other sides of issues.  She demonstrated what it looks like to love people well and to serve those around you.  She showed me how to make a house into a home.

Proverbs 27:17 says “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”  That sharpening involves friction.  Through conflict, we have both grown and changed and become stronger.  We have learned how to speak to one another in love, to speak the truth and gospel to one another. 

Yet, speaking that truth into each other’s lives required that we allow the other person to draw close, to get to know the real us, and to develop a level of trust that ran deeper than any other relationship I’ve known.  At times, that level of trust is frightening.  Yet, through that, I have grown in ways I might not have experienced without that level of trust.

We are entering a new chapter now.  God has graciously given her a wonderful husband, and while this might alter the dynamics of the relationship we have, it by no means brings it to an end.  We will continue to grow and change and learn from one another; we will continue to (occasionally) have friction.  Yet, we will also continue to love one another, to speak the truth and gospel into each other’s lives.  Our friendship over the past 6 years is a testament to the grace of God.  Not only in the way He created and sustained the relationship, but also in how He has used it to grow us deeper in truth and closer to Him.