Four years ago I met this senior named Mallory. Honestly, I thought she was
the coolest person alive. Although she probably still holds that status with me today, my 8th grade take on that statement has grown up with me.
From the first time we had a conversation at the infamous youth council retreat that January, we clicked. She soon began to mentor me throughout her last semester of high school and into the summer until she left for college. I remember how excited I was every time she came up and talked to me at church. I mean, I was talking to a senior. Waaa?
She showed an insecure 8th grader what it meant to follow the Lord. She walked what she believed, and I desire to have faith like hers. She will always be someone I look up to, even though I'm taller than her. One day, I told myself, I am going to be a senior just like her.
I remember the first time I saw her after she left for college. The time I first picked her up and drove her in my car. The time we walked up to my middle school and prayed over it. The time we challenged each other not to complain for a week. The time she gave me the Bible that I still use today.
The crazy part is that I am now the age she was when we met. It is now January of MY senior year. I'm not sure if I am the person I wanted to be four years ago or that you are either. But here we are, and I'm thankful for who you've been to me. A friend, a mentor, and also my sister.
"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.' Surely, he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you make the Most High your dwelling-even the Lord, who is my refuge-then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. 'Because he loves me,' says the Lord 'I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."
Four years ago I met this senior named Mallory. Honestly, I thought she was the coolest person alive. Although she probably still holds that status with me today, my 8th grade take on that statement has grown up with me.
