unexpected friendship

This blog is dedicated to a girl who has become a dear friend to me.

"Would anyone like to run a half marathon with me?" Little did I know that one facebook status update would create a friendship totally God-orchestrated. After many responses, only one girl really followed up and showed interest in laboring through months of training to achieve a goal that neither one of us envisioned was possible in November. We were already friends - kind of. More like 'I know your friends and you know mine so we are sort of friends too' type of thing.

Lacing up our sneakers to venture out together on our first run sparked conversation right away. I learned about her, she learned about me. The training continued. So naturally, our friendship grew.

But not exactly so 'naturally'. C.S. Lewis puts it this way:

"But in friendship, being free of all that, we think we have chosen our peers. In reality, a few years' difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another, posting to different regiments, the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting--any of these chances might have kept us apart. But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances. A secret Master of the Ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples 'Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,' can truly say to every group of Christian friends 'you have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another.' The friendship is not a reward for our discrimination and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each the beauties of the others. They are no greater than the beauties of a thousand other men, by friendship God opens our eyes to them. They are, like all beauties, derived from Him, and then, in a good Friendship, increased by Him through the Friendship itself, so that it is His instrument for creating as well as revealing."

I strongly believe that the reason Katie had a desire to run a half marathon with me was because Christ put that in her heart. His plan was so perfect. He has given me a friend to encourage and vent to. To laugh with, cry with (literally), pray with, and struggle up those hills with. So thank you, Katie, for being a great friend when I least expected you to come into my life. But most of all, thank you, Lord, for choosing us to become friends and grow in You.