Giving all I am to seek Your face

So, if you didn't know by now, my favorite song of all time is "Came to My Rescue". It has been for like...a year and half?
Anyway. I've realized that I've been doing a lot of talking lately. Well duh, I'm me, I'm a human, I have friends. We talk. But, for once in my life, I feel like I have things worth saying. Sure, every word that leaves my mouth is ordained by God, but I feel like I'm making a difference. I think what appealed/appeals to me most about that song is the "I called, you answered"
Every other line is just frickin AWESOME, and without one word, the song wouldn't be complete--but that's what first struck me about it. I had heard it at Apex last summer ('08) and was like whoa. Why does this song stick out to me? And that's why. I was at a very lonely place in my life. Sure, I knew that Jesus loved me, but He wasn't just a phone call away! Jesus wasn't in my phonebook. Right next to Jessica and after Janelle. He's not. But while talking to Sydney the other day, I was reminded that He IS just a phone call away. Actually, more than that. He's always on the phone with us. He NEVER hangs up. Like, I think everybody has the friend that sets down the phone while you're talking to do something instead of just hanging up and calling back. And sometimes, you're like I think I'm just gonna hang up and have them call back. I'm tired of waiting.
Nope. Jesus is the RELENTLESS (unbending, obdurate, adamant, unyielding) lover. He never hangs up, ESPECIALLY when we take that bathroom break that seems to be FOREVER. When we come back to Him, we make excuses. "I was just SO busy and forgot..." "Oh no worries, JC! I came back, didn't I?"
Truth is...some people hang up the phone for good. They get so distracted that they just forget about the phoen completely. Or they'll leave for a long time, only to have something happen.
No, Jessica's in a concert....
Nope, Janelle's sleeping...
Oops, Sarah's phone is off.
Hmm...Jesus will answer!
"Hey Jesus, sorry I left for such a long time. You're still there, right?"
"Always, lovely."
And that's what gets me. Always. ALWAYS. All the time; continuously; uninterruptedly; forever.
So on to another subject, then I'll return to this one!
I've never been the one to be attached at the hip to a "best friend". Yeah, I had Mariah Newton 1st-5th grade, Janelle Mansfield from 4th-10th grade, and 11 on I'm on my own. So it's like no, nobody knows me that well. Nobody remembers my favorites, or my birthday even, or my preference in jelly bean flavors.
Then God pretty much slaps me across the face. I have a lot of best friends. They're all the best. But I find them to be more like...sisters. The good kind of sister...not the kind that leaves the door open in the morning when you're still sleeping and decides to play rockband (HANNAH!).
The kind that remembers your dreams. That keeps track of your tangled web of stories about that one guy that nobody seems to understand. The one that will take your burned mix cds over store bought ones any day. That can't fight with you no matter how hard she tries, just because she loves you that much. She'll tell you you're dead wrong, and help you move past it. She takes your sixteen-year-old version of a crayon picture and laughs at it. She'll pray with you after you've cried for much too long. Sure, you grow at different rates, but it's growing together.
So, what I've realized with these "sisters" is that I can't rely on them completely, they're not gonna be on the other line of the phone forever. But God's put that phone in their hand to encourage you and comfort you like Jesus would and does. He's placed them in my life with purpose...and like I said, they're not gonna be there forever.
To all my "sisters": I love you guys.

-LL

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