In my point of view and opinion I see Jesus as my friend and my guidance, a friend who not only gets me but is always there for me. Throughout life I’ve realized that friends come and go and none of it will last forever, even family sometimes come and go or will act like strangers. But one thing I know for sure in my life and have realized more and more as life goes on is that God is there and he has been and will always be there. He is my Friend. He is a friend who gets me and has seen me through my worst and through my best, and I always know that he will never leave. I always believed in God but when I was younger I would just pray and trust him and know he’s there. As I’ve gotten older I’ve realized that there’s more to him than just praying and trusting him. There's following him and believing in him and putting my faith and life in his hands. I’ve realized that there’s no one that’s gonna be here for me like he has.

There are days and nights where I’ve spoken to him as my best friend and I know and feel that he’s listening. I know he’s real and there because he just wants the best for me and has already planned my life. I’ve been reading more and more in the Bible, and it makes me more and more happy and at peace. A peace I used to not feel when I just prayed like that or would just say yes I believe in God. But once I picked up the Bible and started reading and understanding what he wants of us, I know this is the path I want.

Over the years I’ve realized that there are some times where things might not go according to plan or go the way we want it to but it’s his plan, and I just have to keep moving forward and trust him. There was this quote I read the other day and it was something like: “We’re living in a moment we once prayed for.” When I heard this I was like wow this is true because we never know his plan or what got us to where we are because he’s working and he’s always working on us. He listens to us like a friend but responds to them like our God, our way maker. Another quote: “We might not know now what God has planned for us, but one day we will.” That day we will understand that he heard us and listened to us. We just have to trust in him and obey him.

God is our friend, he's our way maker, our savior, he's our God. One thing I know for sure is that he’s coming and he’s coming in strong. I’ve been listening to gospel music more than ever. Let me say that it always puts a smile on my face, I can be in the worst mode possible but once I hear a song about God my mood changes in a heartbeat and even skips a beat. There’s a song called “Praise” by Elevation Worship, my favorite song ever. Once that song comes on I’m jumping, I'm screaming, and the smile on my face just gets bigger and bigger. There’s a part in that song that says, “As long as I'm breathing…I've got a reason to praise the Lord.'' I am breathing because of the Lord, I am here today and stronger than ever because I have the Lord right by my side.

Isabelle Fadel, SFC '27