When God Sends a Friend

A STORY OF FAITH, FRIENDSHIP, AND JOY

There’s an image I found on the internet that says, “The pain that you’ve been feeling cannot compare to the joy that’s coming.” It’s based on the Bible verse Romans 8:18, and it is something I wish I could tell my younger self because it is so true. 

Growing up, I was the girl who got picked on and made fun of because of her weight. Already in Pre-K, it seemed like there were always some kids who chose to pick on me. It was hard because year after year, I always hoped it would get better, that I would have more friends, and that I would be bullied less. However, year after year, it seemed like the opposite was happening. The few friends I did have started hanging out with a girl who had bullied me a lot, and suddenly, it felt like all my friends were gone. I had entered into what would be one of the darkest periods in my life. Quickly, I became the girl who sat alone on the playground and would come home to my parents crying. I was very depressed to the point that there were times when I felt like nobody would miss me if I would have disappeared. In my eyes, my life didn’t matter. 

But man, Jesus really wanted to show me how wrong I was. It was a few weeks before I was supposed to enter middle school when I met my best friend, Maia. We met at the fair while waiting in line to pick up some artwork. She was standing behind me, and I felt something (which I now know was God) telling me to turn around and compliment her art. We got talking and found out that we were both the same age and would be going to middle school together. Before we parted ways, she said she would see me at school, but I figured she would forget about me by the time classes started. However, on that first day, I heard someone calling out my name – there she was, smiling and waving at me; I felt like someone had finally seen me. Little did I know that she was going to be the person that would help pull me out of my depression. We quickly became close friends.

“God started using her story to reach me.”

A few months after I met her, Maia started down a journey of physical health complications, which is the point where God started using her story to reach me. Maia had been a Christian since I met her, and at the time, I, too, claimed myself as a “Christian.” I had grown up Catholic but only went to church once in a while, and while I did attend Wednesday night’s CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) classes, I never really understood the importance of God or why He mattered. This stayed the same for the most part until high school when Maia’s health complications continued to develop, and I saw her face her own dark period. The more challenging times became, the more she relied on God and had faith in Him. That kind of faith made me start asking her and her mom questions about who God was and having conversations with them about the Bible.

In August 2021, Maia and her mom helped me pick out my first Bible, and while I claimed I was a Christian, I still wasn’t – I was living a life full of sin and still hadn’t fully committed myself to God. This way of living continued until the weekend of July 30, 2022. I had recently moved into my first apartment off campus, and Maia came up to see it. That Friday, my mom decided to take us to this cafe called The Blind Munchies where we met this guy named Ryan who invited us to church on Sunday. That Sunday, I remember being so nervous as I entered Believers City Church with Maia. I just had a feeling that something was going to change that day, and sure enough as soon as the worship began, I just began to sob. I felt this overwhelming joy consume me, and I just felt like I was home. I was holding onto Maia’s hand, and we just looked at each other with tears in our eyes, and shortly after that, I closed my eyes and surrendered my life to God.

After that day, my life did change. Over the last three years, God really blessed me with so many things: a beautiful spiritual family through Believers City Church and Street Level Ministries, a mission trip He took me on, and growing me in so many ways. He’s helped me overcome anxiety and just continues to remind me daily that He’s got me and that He’s never going to let me go. And it’s not just these last three years that He’s had my back; it’s been my entire life. He was walking with me and helping me through those dark times without me realizing it. He sent me a best friend who helped show me what a loving God we have by being a loving, caring, and faith-filled woman herself. 

Romans 8:18 is not just something that I can relate to, but something we all can. And right now, if you’re somebody struggling through a dark time where you feel alone, please reach out to God because He loves you so much and will get you through these dark times. Truly, what you’re facing right now will be nothing compared to the joy God is going to give you. 

Always remember, God’s got this.