If I may, I'd like to introduce to you one of the greatest gifts God has ever given me.....
Yes, that's a sheep....that is not God's greatest gift to me. It's the lady on the right. She goes by Heidi. My nickname for her? Heidi-Ho. It's okay. She calls me Pippie.
I met Heidi when my time in ministry in Richmond Hill first began. I stood in the pulpit, shared my heart, and this woman came up to me afterwards and shared some amazing comments that made me laugh till it hurt. I knew instantly that I would have a great friendship with this woman. What I didn't know is that the Lord would take Heidi and I not only around the world together, but that He would use her to teach me to hear His voice as I walked my everyday steps.
I can't even begin to summarize into one blog how much Heidi means to me and how vital she is to who I am in the Lord today. But I will share with you how much I love this woman. She challenges me to look outside of my personal bubble and see what Jesus sees. She challenges me to hear His heartbeat and to walk it out. When Heidi and I get together, there is an excitement that stirs as we know the Lord is always up to something--and it's a pleasure to live life with her.
To walk where Jesus would walk with her. To share salvation with a homeless man on a bench with her. To hand out bananas with her and watch through one box of bananas a family be reunited. To take her on her first mission trip to Guatemala. To travel to Romania with her so that she could later lead the first ever all adult mission trip out of RHUMC. To celebrating her birthday together while in Romania. To celebrating my birthday together doing Katrina relief in Mississippi. To her being my wedding director and being absolutely amazing! To sitting in a coffee shop sharing stories of how God is moving in our lives. To sharing life together...the way I believe God intended believers to share life.
My sweet Jesus has blessed me with letting me see her twice over the past two weeks and each time I have said good bye with a lump in my throat. God brought her into my life for a reason. Even though we don't live in the same town these days and our random trips pulling over on the side of the road, getting a homeless man a hotel room, getting him a greyhound bus ticket, taking him to the station, praying for him before we put him on the bus and sending him to where his family lives, are not as often, I treasure this woman as a precious jewel in my life.
Today is my dear friends birthday and Heidi, I want you to know how much I love you. I can't thank Jesus enough for you. You are one of the greatest gifts God has ever given me and I want you to know it! I can hardly write this blog without balling over it and I know when I feel this much affection for you--how much more so does your Heavenly Father feel for you. He loves you so incredibly much--and it's not because of the things you "do". It's because of the way you refuse to fall into the norm of christianity and you walk the way Jesus walked--and you LOVE Him WELL-and that makes a Papa proud.
I love you Heidi. I miss you. Thank you for letting the Lord use YOU to shape me into who I am today. Praying this next year will be a year of overwhelming surprises, blessings, and abundance of Him. That this year will be a year of more dreams and visions from your Beloved Bridegroom. Enjoy Him Heidi, as He enjoys you.
And HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY BEAUTIFUL FRIEND!
