Whaattaaa Blessing...

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
[[Luke 1: 46-48]]


Indeed, the Lord did look with favor on me last week. I won a debate tournament in Humorous. I placed third in Open. Seventh in Debate. But this post isn't about my successes and such. 


No. Cause when I left this tournament, I took something else away from it. The Lord did look down on me in yet another way. For he has heaped countless blessings upon me. 


Last week I felt blessed. It was one of the most amazing feelings. In fact, I still feel blessed. 


Like I said, there was a debate tournament. One of the craziest I have ever been to. It was fun (they always are) so that was nothing new. I got to spend all day with my friends for three days, which again, was nothing new. The competition was tough. Nothing new. As I stood around during the registration the night before the tournament, I wasn't too excited. It was just going to be the same old tournament. There was nothing to get excited about. Same old. Same old. 


Right? 


Wrong.


I ended up breaking in debate and my speeches. Which was crazy but great at the same time. Everyone was super encouraging. Which is normal. 


But then something happened. My brother and I were disqualified from our duo. We didn't do anything intentionally, for we had just not been clear on one of the rules. It was pretty hard being disqualified. I was freaked out that I was going to be humiliated in front of everyone. 


But when I walked into the hallway, all my club friends were there. They were all so supportive and encouraging to my brother and I. And it wasn't because they were just "trying-to-be-a-good-friend". They genuinely wanted to help us out. It was the first time I actually realized how blessed I am to have these particular friends. It blew me away. I was touched. Looking back on the entire tournament, I can only laugh since I never saw it before. These kids are seriously the greatest group of friends I have ever had. I cannot even begin to describe how fantastic they all are. 


I have such a dedicated debate partner. She is beautiful. 

In addition to my partner, I have two other best friends who were so supportive and encouraging throughout the whole tournament. 

I have another friend who is just the coolest person in the world. Not even kidding.

While things can be hard and there can be many struggles, stresses, trials, and tears, I have friends who I can always count on to make me laugh.

In the end, I can't say I was "glad" we were disqualified...but it did help me recognize and appreciate the friendships I have made especially through Speech and Debate. They really are my best friends and through the tournament, there is no doubt, that we all became closer as friends and more importantly as a team. I love them all so much. I am blessed. There is no question in my mind. 

[[and who can even begin to question when it comes to such a fine looking group of friends??]]