Iron Sharpens Iron

We are all influenced by the people who surround us. The people we do life with are going to impact us.... sometimes it can be the way we talk or the phrases we pick up. Sometimes we can even pick up other people's accents. We may unconsciously change the way we dress to become more like those we spend time with (especially if we go shopping together). We are encouraged to try new hobbies: maybe tennis or biking. Maybe singing. Maybe acting. Our personalities begin to evolve... to change shape according to who we spend time with, and what they might be like.

Before coming to college, this thought somehow never even crossed my mind. Of course I knew the general idea of choosing friends wisely.... but the idea of a roommate is so intense. To live in the same room, go to class together, eat meals together, spend the weekends together... of course you will be influenced.

Sometimes roommates do things shockingly different... new ways that might never have even occurred to me...  just because I've never done it that way, even though it might be completely legitimate. Somehow we get so narrow-minded: my way of _______ is the only way. You are so weird. WHY would you do it like that? Until suddenly you try flipping the toilet paper the other way. Until you try cleaning the mirror that way. Until you allow yourself to not be fifteen minutes early to everything. Until you try going to bed a little earlier... and rising a little sooner.

Suddenly your eyes open, and you realize that the other way might actually suit you better. That there is a reason behind the weirdness. And suddenly it's not weird anymore. It's just different.

In some ways, rooming with someone is like marriage (or so I'm told). You have to survive with this person. You don't have a way out. You must make it work. You can choose to get into tiffs and arguments over toilet paper and toothpaste and cleaning and music. Or you can choose to let things slide. You can choose to let the communication die, or you can keep it happening... voicing your needs, and being aware of theirs.

It is in the "letting things slide" and in keeping open paths of communication that my roommate and I have found the immense friendship and beauty of being roommates. Daily showing grace to each other... knowing what we need, and being there to offer it... even if we're in the middle of doing something. To share how our days went. To laugh and giggle at the ridiculous things, and to cry at the things that hurt. To walk alongside of each other. To hold each other up when we stumble.

Words can't quite describe what Bekah has come to mean to me. She is a beautiful person, and an amazing Sister in Christ. She drives me to the Lord in times of need. She prays over me. She hugs me, and cherishes me like few others know how to do. She knows exactly what I need, even if it is just to sit with me and listen, or to cry with me. She offers me Truth when my soul is starving for it.
She serves me above and beyond what I could ask for. She has opened my eyes to so many new things. And she's always willing to do something completely ridiculous with me, just to laugh.

Bek. I am blessed to have you in my life.