Make New Friends...

But keep the old. Isn't funny, how all of a sudden you can look back and think, how in the world did I get here. I'm at this good place and I have to think to remember the lonely lonely road that led to here. I used to sing this song in Girl Scouts. I was a die hard Girl Scout. Long past when it was cool. But the first line of the song is, 'Make new friends, but keep the old'... I am finally at the point here that I have older friends and I am still making new friends. My older friends are introducing me to their friends and actually they are introducing me to their friends. I am just kind of overwhelmed at how good God has been. I'm overwhelmed because at one point in this foreign place surrounded by people speaking this foreign language, I didn't think I'd ever have people that I'd actually call 'friends'. And I'm overwhelmed because I can actually tell Him how good He is in mine and this foreign language and mean it from the heart. There will be more hard times ahead and it's still hard now. But, I was just reminded as I saw this picture and as I've been reflecting this week on just how much I love these people. I have precious friends that I love sharing my life with here and I hope that I get to keep sharing my heart with. All this thankfulness with no specific reason. No huge event that changed my world this week. No, it's not Thanksgiving Day, I'm just thankful. I've been reflecting because Sunday I listened to a friend talk from the Word to a group of people an ocean away and He used it to touch my heart and encourage me to show my gratitude to the Lord. And don't you know that as I've been more thankful this week, He has just been so faithful to keep reminding me of more things that I have to be thankful for! Today, I had lunch with one of my first friends here, a girl she introduced me to, and a girl that the second girl introduced me to today. And tomorrow, Melissa and I will go to the university and have lunch--hopefully not the hot lunch line from the cafeteria...it left much to be desired last week-- and spend some time with more friends. And Saturday, I will go study the Word with different friends. All of these Turkish, and then this weekend, I'll get to see American friends from Istanbul that are coming to visit. And so on... I mean, how did I get from last January to here? He's been so good to me. I am daily reminded (as I open my mouth) that it has nothing to do with me, but that He's so faithful to bless my friends through me because through me, they are getting to know Him. And who doesn't want that? I'm just overwhelmed at how I get to be so blessed in the process.