I thought long and hard about who God has placed in my life and who I thought inspired me most. And there are people that I look up to, such as my parents and pastors and what-not. And they all invested in my life and I am entirely grateful. But I chose Jodi.
Jodi has taken time out of her life to spend with me. She never treated me as a project. I'm not a mentee or a student to her. I'm her friend. Plain and simple.
The first time I was invited over, I expected a long conversation about godly things and what I should do with my life and my problems. But it never came. She genuinely wanted to spend time with me, and if I wanted to open up and ask advice, I was completely able to do so.
Without realizing it, instead of telling me how to live my life, she showed me. She invites me over for dinner and cooks me pie. She invites me to her kids hockey practices and games. We watch American Ninja Warrior and play games with her family.
She's been leading by example. She's showed me what a healthy marriage and loving mother looks like. She's proved to me that it's okay to be yourself and to be confident in that even when others don't approve or understand. She has showed me that it's okay to mess up because we have a forgiving Father, as long as we acknowledge it and turn from it.
She probably doesn't realize that she inspires me, but she does, and I'm so thankful for her friendship.
"What is done in love is done well," (Vincent Vangogh).
"Let all you do, be done in love," (1 Corinthians 16:14).
