Before I start waxing eloquent about my friends, please note the Starbucks tally is updated. Today is the first day of my vacation, so this morning I walked over to Starbucks and enjoyed the "usual" and a piece of banana bread. It was $6.17 worth of relaxation and peaceful time with God. What a lovely start to my holiday.
Okay, enough about me, let's talk about Troy.
When I think of Troy, I think of two scriptures: "...aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands...so that you may live properly before outsiders..." and "do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others" (1 Thes 4:11-12 and Phil 2:3-4). Troy exemplifies these verses. He truly strives to live quietly, drawing little attention to his own merits and service, but living in such a way that outsiders notice the difference in his life. I have actually heard one of his co-workers say they could never imagine Troy saying or doing anything unkind. Troy has a true servant's heart. If I were to list off all the ways he has served me and given selflessly of himself, this would end up being my longest blog entry ever. Just yesterday, he humbled himself and served me when I was acting like a total brat.
Which is another reason why I appreciate him. Troy is my friend who still likes me when I am being totally and completely myself. Which means I am probably being childish and selfish and more than a little annoying. Troy definitely sees more of the ugly side of me than I show to most people. He's seen the ugliness and hasn't run away or abandoned our friendship. Instead, he quietly sees me through those times and patiently encourages and instructs me to grow in God's grace. He's not afraid to call me out, but usually he doesn't even have to because I am convicted simply by watching how he lives.
Troy is also stinkin' hilarious. He never ceases to surprise me. Every time I think I have him figured out, he throws me a curve ball. He is a man of contradictions. He is one of the most methodical, analytical people I know. But he still manages to be completely random and unpredictable. I love being around him because I never know what will happen next. We could be having a deep, theological discussion and next thing I know, we're talking about how a verse in Isaiah reminds him of Jack Black! Who thinks of these things?! Better than just about anyone else, Troy knows how to push my buttons. And he takes advantage of that frequently. He takes an evil delight in getting me riled up. I pretend to be mad about that, but anyone who knows me knows that I secretly like it. Which is probably why we get along so well. Like peas and carrots.
Troy, you are always teaching me what it means to be a true friend. Your friendship is invaluable to me.
1 comment:
Ya, that's cool. Whateva.
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