A lesson in faithfulness

This summer I've been reminded of God's faithfulness. After a hiatus from this blog, I'm back to discuss remaining constant and the irony is not lost on me.

Faithful defined is loyal, constant, and steadfast.

These words have shown up in my life and heart in a few ways in the last couple of months. As you know from my previous post - June included a retreat in the woods for some soul food, if you will. During that time I praised God for being faithful in His character and felt the conviction that He gently asks the same of me and gives me SO many opportunities to practice faithfulness back to Him.

Faithfulness from God's perspective is more than simply not cheating. Faithfulness is the active choice to remain. Jesus said so Himself when he said, "Remain in me, as I also remain in you.No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." John 15:4

Through the month of July I was traveling a lot and seeing some great people from different parts of my life. This reminded me of God's faithfulness in a few ways.

1. I had an awesome mini-vacation with my sweet and loyal friend Rachel. She and I have been friends since 2005 when we studied abroad in Europe one summer. That experience provided the groundwork for us to be travel buddies years later. She was willing to use some of her coveted vacation days to explore a new city with me. We had an awesome time and I saw first hand the fruits of lasting, steadfast friendships. 

God's faithfulness - free class of tea in the hottest part of Boston

Faithfulness seen in the revolutionaries that participated in the Boston Tea Party

2. I then traveled to Colorado where many of my worlds collided reminding me of how God is the constant in my life. I mean how crazy is it to be staying with a roommate I knew in NC while visiting former coworkers who live in Orlando and seeing a girl I discipled in KY all in Ft. Collins CO? God has been so faithful in His love for me through His people. The friends I reconnected with in Colorado are from different seasons of my life and yet all blend beautifully together as my Great Colorado Adventure. I got to cross of a trip from my 30 before 30 list to see my lovely friend Katie and hang out with her family. I got to see my roommate Kate's summer home at YL camp at 9,000 ft with a view of Mt. Princeton. I got to vacation with my mom for the 2nd time and created lots of new memories with my cousins. And to top it off (and not related to faithfulness) I won $60 at a casino playing black jack :)

Faithfulness in still knowing and feeling loved by these great people from Cru circa 2006

Faithfulness in Amy letting me crash in her dorm room to visit so many great people

Faithfulness in Kate's friendship and joy during her time in CO

Faithfulness in picking up conversation and talking nonstop in my visit to Katie.

Faithfulness in a friendship with my mom, in addition to being her daughter.

3. And to end my summer I went home to see my nephew be baptized. This was an example of God's faithfulness in family togetherness and loyalty. My family likes being with each other and we show up to the stuff that's important. I had to move things around and we had to change the date for this event several times to make it work, but we persevered because that's what we do as a faithful family. And faithfully, we always have great food and parties when I'm there.

Faithfulness in this sweet couple and my Grandma turning 80!

Faithfulness in Mrs. Manuel being one of our family after all these years

Lamentations 3:22-23