Fellowship Weekend

As I was cruising up the mountain on Friday night, I could help but let the stress of the planning melt away. I had recently invited some of my closest friends up to Lake Arrowhead and it just seemed to be more stressful then it should have been. With the last second changes and what was expected, I just did not want to dissapoint. However, as I was driving, I felt that God was going to bless us this weekend, and my selfish desires of showing some great people an amazing weekend might get in the way of that, especially if I was stressing out. So I prayed as I drove and asked for peace and calm. I immediately felt that everything was going accordingly to HIS plan.

The entire purpose of the weekend in Lake Arrowhead was simply to let old expectations of people go away and learn more about the leaders in our ministry. To become closer as a gorup and as become closer with God. On Friday night we all amde it safely up to the cabin and Patrick lead us in an intense worship and prayer session. As we sang songs, I was able to look around the room, and it brought tears to my eyes. Here I had such a diverse group together, worshipping Christ as one body and prayoing for each other as brothers and sisters. We were not only diverse in backgrounds but also in personalities. I fully expected a couple arguments to break out over the weekend, especially having that many people in such a small space. However, it didn't happen.

I learned a lot about the people that I shared the weekend with, and my hope is that they learned a little bit more about me. The fellowship that we shared can not being imitated or faked. We truly became closer as a group through worship, prayer, thanks, and of course fun in between. Whether it was back flips off the dock into sub-50 degree water or playing games as a group at night. We became closer. A friend of mine said something a little while ago that actually described the way I used to handle friends. They said, "I never allowed friends to get too close, this way they were not able to hurt me and I never became too attached". I thought the same way for a long time and never became to close to a group of friends that I could trust. However, as soon as I became involved in Young Life and High Rollers, God opened my eyes and showed me exactly what I had been missing. This is a group that I would never run away from. God calls us to gain fellowship and use this as a tool. Even Christ had his buddies that he trusted and loved. I finally belived I had found a group that I can truly trust and that honestly loves me for who I am. How else are we supposed to survive in a world full that thrives on self indulgences and lives on sin? We definitly can't do it alone and luckily God will place people in our lives that we can go to in times of trouble.

So after this successful weekend, I find myself once agin wodnering how lucky did I get with such an amzing group of friends. Friends I can call on for obscure advice and will get an honest, brutual, biblical answer. One filled with compassion yet conviction. These are the types of people every Christian should be surrounding themselves with.

Before Young Life and HIgh Rollers, I had one friend that I could truly count on. (Besides family) No more than four months later, I have over twenty. Things like this does not happen but through God's grace and compassion. I cherish the time I have and will spend with these individuals and the group as a whole. Praise God for the friends he ahs blessed me with and the love I recieve from them.