One of my fondest memories is from 2005 when I was18 years old. I lived in Acworth, GA at the time and worked at a local hospital in the emergency room. One of my coworkers was a guy named Drew who my about my age and one of my most cherished friends. He had a love for God and a passion for life unlike anyone I had ever known. Just being around him was like a breath of fresh air. Always laughing, going on adventures, and sharing his love for life with others...he was a dreamer at its finest. You felt like your heart could rest when you were with him.
He had an adventurous heart much like mine. He and I used to go to Allatoona lake after getting off work at 11pm or 3am, depending on which shift he had to work. We would sit on the dock in our work clothes, only able to see each other because of the moonlight reflecting off the water. Sometimes we sat...sometimes we laid and looked up at the stars. We would talk for hours about anything and everything, but mostly about the awesomeness of God. I laugh as I type that because the word "awesomeness" sounds so teenager-ish, but that was Drew. Never afraid to sound like a child, because his excitement for life was nothing short of child-like. One night he told me how just the other day, he realized just how little he knows, and how he has so much more to learn. "And isn't that exciting?!" he asked me with his eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas. "There's so much more out there! So much more we can learn. So much room to grow!" Others would see their ignorance as a negative thing, but not Drew. To him it was an opportunity. A chance to become a better person. I admired him, and my adventerous heart loved sharing the possibilities with him.
One night, he said something to me that I haven't forgotten. It was a beautiful starry night, probably around 2am, and I was mesmerized with the beauty around us. Somewhere in the middle of the conversation, he looked at me. After a silent pause, he said, "Can I tell you something? You're beaming tonight." I didn't realize it at the time, but I probably looked that way because I FELT that way. Drew and I shared two things that made my heart come alive: A love for Christ, and a heart that longed for adventure. When we looked around, we both saw God's glory in the simplest of things, even in a lake under the moonlight. The only other time I've had that feeling has been while standing on the beach. There's something about being on a shoreline with nothing in front of you but ocean as far as the eye can see. The surroundings are so vast and glorious, it's as if your soul finally has room to breathe. God made us all dreamers. Some have simply suppressed that desire because of the hurts of life. But the longing is still there, buried deep inside. There is something to be said for having a friend that not only encourages your dreams, but dreams himself. A woman comes alive in the presence of a man after God's own heart. With him as her companion, her beauty is unveiled in the most delicate way. She becomes the woman God meant her to be.
I share this story tonight because it has been on my mind all day. God has shown me his glory in the most amazing ways this weekend, and I can't help but share my overflowing heart. God meant for us to have people in our lives who make us beam from the inside out. May you always have a Drew in your life, whether he be a friend, boyfriend, or spouse. And may the two of you share many nights by the lake.
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