Thank You Again!

Dear A2F3 brothers and sisters + Ellen and Jackie,

Hahaha I love you guys =)

My mother was not wrong when she wrote an email to me and said: "You are blessed to have such wonderful people in your life." I completely agreed with her at the time (though a tad confused because she seemed to know something about you guys that I did not know...haha now I know it had a little something to do with the birthday present you were all planning together).

I never had friends in my life who...cared so much for me; who loves me so much...so much that I feel like my relationship with all of you is not far from my relationship with God. In the past, I always seemed to love harder or love stronger than my friend's love for me. I opened up to them as quick as possible and hoped in vain that they would open up to me, confide in me, share their thoughts with me in the same way I shared my thoughts with them...loved them...cared for them...so that we could establish a close relationship and then I would no longer feel alone. I was searching...I truly prayed to God nearly every night that I would find a place to belong in so that I would no longer feel self-conscious, angry, or feel like there's no reason to live. I got hurt a lot this way. It's so much easier to be on the receiving end of hurt when it's a one-sided relationship. I was an atheist back then.

Once I accepted Christ around the middle or end of tenth grade, I had changed a lot. I had shut myself down and began to just listen, but not talk; just look, but not express; just like but not love. Although circumstances progressed and changed a little once I got to college, I was still very much my new self- an independent, individualistic being. It was just God, me, and my purpose. What this purpose was...back then...probably didn't revolve around love or fellowship...it revolved around success, money, fame (though I promised in the back of my mind that if I got rich and famous, I'll donate to charity...an outlook that I now view with disgust (not at my actions, but at the bare minimum that I would do in order to further the Kingdom of God)).

Therefore I feel so blessed to have met you guys. To have met Gracepoint. My life will never be the same. But it'll be a good kind of "never be the same" haha =) I can't wait to see what the future has in store for us, what God has in store for us. I want to do something grand for Him. Something grand that could involve all of us. We are so strong together! We are so powerful together! We can do anything as long as we're together! No obstacles can stand our way. No thorns can block our path. We not only struggle together; we fight together.
So let's open up to each other more.

Communicate. Love. Family.

Sincerely,
Your sister in Christ,
Lily

P.S. I love the guitar! I will use it and play it to the fullest. I will cherish this gift forever. Thank You.