Daily Scripture Reading: Psalm 146:5-10; Ruth 1:6-18; 2 Peter 3:1-10

A Light in the Darkness

When I was in sixth grade, I was going through a phase I believe every middle schooler goes through at some point. No, not puberty, but the phase where we believe that we are alone and not that close to anyone. Or maybe that was just me?

I think the main reason for this phase was the fact that I had recently arrived at my school, having only been there for about a year and a half while most of my peers had been there since K5. They were already very close to one another and when we were introduced to the concept of being able to sit wherever we wanted and not with a pre-determined group of people I often felt left out when they would all crowd together at one end of the table or another. I found solace with a few other girls who didn't feel up to screaming over one another to be heard. I remember that we didn't talk much, but none of us really felt like that was needed. We simply enjoyed the silence.

Spring break of my first year in middle school was met with much excitement. I was going to Disney World and Universal with some family friends. I had recently gotten one friends phone number so we could keep in contact, and I was fully prepared to spend the whole week focused on nothing else besides Harry Potter world.

It turns out that I got side tracked quite often from texting my friend. We both shared similar opinions on many things, such as school, our faith, our hair, and other trivial things. I spent many a bus ride across the park texting her long monologues about how I felt about school, and in return she sent me back paragraphs about how she felt about the same topic. Throughout the week, we became increasingly closer and soon we were best friends. As soon as I got home, I begged my mom to let her come over so we could have a spend the night party and bond some more.

When I got back to school, the first thing I did was hug her. So much had happened that it seemed impossible for me not to. After that, we became closer than ever, developing nicknames for each other and even the teachers got confused on which one of us was which (I ever did understand this because I don't thing we look that similar).

In seventh grade we found ourselves having a group. It felt nice knowing that I had people to go to lunch and knowing I could be honest with them. Certain circumstances (classes) lead us to not have lunch together this year, but we are all still very close. It makes me so happy to look back and see how far I’ve come, and how much my friend in particular has truly been a light to guide my way.

We still depend on each other and text often, asking each other to pray for one another and just talking about what troubles us. I have decided to include her favorite verse below:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”-Jeremiah 29:11

—Lucy Blaylock