A very special girl

After we got settled into our new home in Missoula, we attended a marriage retreat that was wonderful. We met a few friends there from our church and got plugged into a small group that they were in. We made some friends and started forming relationships. One of the ladies in the group worked with the youth at our church and had befriended one of the girls named Molly. One night when we were at our group Molly called and asked if someone could come get her from her house. Her home life was very difficult and she need a lot of outside support. I felt like God nudged me to go along and pick her up. I did and as she got into the van she looked very beaten down. I sat quietly in the back seat and she sat down beside me not really seeing me. I reached over and put my hand on ther leg and said, I know how you feel, I've had a similar background. She was startled by this at first, but she was glad to have someone there for her. As we hung out more as a group we got to know one another better. We had a lot in common and God was breaking my heart for her. She was a senior in high school at the time and had about 6 months until graduation. She started staying over at our apartment on weekends and then at spring break she stayed the whole week. Gradually she stayed longer and longer until the day she turned 18 and she moved in with us for the summer. This was an amazing time of walking with God in order to be wholly available for her, but it was also very difficult in many different ways. During this time God revealed to me what many people had told me along the way in my life...that God had a big plan for me and would use my past to help others. I was amazed at how God fit the two of us together and used my strenghts AND weaknesses to help this precious girl that he cared so much about. I know that this relationship was sent by God and his timing for our move to MT (graduating from CSU a year early) was perfectly placed in order to make me available to her. I'm so thankful that I had this time of learning and growing and will always be thankful for my dear friend whom I still love very much!