My friend Ashley

Over the last year, the Lord blessed me with a very special friendship in my friend Ashley Maclean. She and I met in June 2015 over ice cream. A mutual friend had said that we should be friends, he wanted her to have more anglophone (people whose first language is English) friends. We hit it off right away and had a lot of fun. I got to spend a few days with her over the summer before I went home in August for a long visit. I remember thinking that she was special, her faith and love for the Lord was contagious! I wanted to get to know her better, to know more about her relationship with God and to possibly learn from her how I could grow closer to God as well. So I asked her if we could start a Bible study together and from there the friendship blossomed. We grew in so many ways, in friendship with each other, in our faith, and in our personal relationships with the Lord.

I watched as the Lord brought a man into her life when she wasn't expecting it. Over the next few months their relationship grew and I could see how her faith and love for the Lord was growing as well. She would share with me a lot about the things she had been learning with him, and what she had been learning on her own. She was growing in so many ways and I was blessed to be one of her close friends to see this. Both of them put God first in their relationship, and that was refreshing to see in today's culture. Through it all she was still a great friend and example to me.

I was very honored to be a part of her wedding this last week and to have spent the last week with her and her friends before the wedding. I spent the week with Ashley, showing her friend from Saskatchewan around the city. We had such a fun and event-filled week doing touring and getting ready for the wedding. Then Thursday we spent the day honoring Ashley with a relaxing day for her and a beautiful shower in the evening. We spent the day Friday decorating the church and the reception and doing the rehearsal. And then Saturday, the big day came and went by so fast. It all seemed like a blur because it all went so smoothly and so quickly.

It was hard to say goodbye. This day was quite possibly the last day I will see Ashley again for a long time. The Lord was so good to me in bringing her into my life, and now we are both moving onto different stages in our lives. I know that she has a very godly husband who will take care of her in all ways, financially, physically, and spiritually. I am so thankful for this man that is in her life. I cannot wait to see where the Lord takes them!

Thank you Ashley for being a wonderful encouragement to me over the last year. Thank you for showing me your love for the Lord and for sharing that love and knowledge with me. Thank you for the example you have set of a godly relationship. You two are a light in a spiritually dark place, and I pray that the Lord will use you both in wonderful ways over the years. I love you and look forward to seeing you again, whenever that may be.