Who's yours?

I've had writer's block for a couple days.. just had absolutely no idea what God wanted me to write for y'all. Then as I'm sitting here listening to music, I go through my pictures and come across Maria. For those of you who don't know her, that's just a random name with no meaning.. yet. We all have Marias in our life. I'm so glad God sent me mine. 

Maria came to Faith Academy (my school) in the beginning of the year. She was a foreign exchange student from Denmark. You see, we have it really easy here in Alabama. We've all pretty much grown up knowing who Jesus is, what He did, what the Bible is, etc. That's not the case with Denmark and a lot of other places around the world. We all got a big reality check with the questions she asked. The things she asked were things we never questioned. So, of course, we had no idea how to answer some of them. The whole situation brought a lot of us closer to God and made us dig deeper in the Word for answers. She did get her answers and she was overwhelmed with the love of Christ. She wasn't at Faith Academy by accident. We were blessed with the chance to help her into salvation.

Maria isn't MY best friend by accident. She just recently left to head back to Denmark to change the culture. That girl has such a strong heart for Jesus, and compassion for making other people feel loved. Maria being saved only a couple weeks brought so many others to Christ!

When I say we all have Marias in our lives, I don't just mean foreign exchange students. I mean everyday people you come in contact with. People who make you question your salvation and make your walk with God stronger. People who, just by being around them, you can feel the love of God through them. These people aren't in your life by accident! We need accountability partners, we need people to remind us of God's unfailing love, to keep us in check. We can't always do it alone.

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

"Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:1