This is: Bethany Canfield

My sister and friend, Bethany Canfield.

Have you ever seen someone and thought "that person is really cool--I want to become friends with them!"? Well, this is exactly what happened to me with Miss Bethany Canfield. I had been in a season where I was not feeling satisfied with my relationships with girls my age and was finding this growing desire for fellowship with older women in the church. I felt like God was highlighting Bethany as someone that I could possibly find that with, but I was kind of scared to approach her because I hadn't really talked with her before and in my mind (and also in reality!) her cool factor was just way off the charts.

Long story short, God led me to her and her husband's house church and our relationship began to blossom and grow. It's cool because when I was praying about getting to know Bethany more, I was asking God to give me a mentor. But what he had in mind was far greater (duh!). He gave me an older sister. Bethany has literally become one of my best friends and has been there for me in a way that not a lot of people have. She has been someone that I could go to when I need encouragement. She is a prayer warrior if ever I have met one. And most of all, she is someone that calls out my identity in Christ and encourages me to chase after the things that he has called me to.

One of my favorite (sorta) memories with her took place a few summers ago. Bethany, my two friends, and I decided to go on a short (4 miles-ish) run after a house church barbecue one summer day in June. Because we were not in an area that we were too familiar with, we decided to ask our friend Travis ( an avid runner) for directions with regards to where we should run. BIG MISTAKE. Without going into too many details, I will just say that in short, we got SUPER lost. We took a trail that ended up leading us to some random field in the middle of nowhere. At night. With no cell phones. As someone who is striving to become more adventurous (translation: I am a scaredy-cat), I was literally afraid for my life. I was certain that we would have to stay the night in the wilderness and that even the cops wouldn't be able to find us. Bethany however, was totally loving this adventure. She wasn't scared at all (or at least didn't show it) which at the time kind of pissed me off because I was literally on the verge of having a heart attack the entire time. Somehow (the grace of God), we made it back...FIVE HOURS LATER (if memory serves me correctly--I have been known to unintentionally embellish stories...) cut up and from battling black berry bushes and exhausted from our 9 MILE trip. But you know what? It made for a good story and it brought us all even closer together :)

She is spunky, tender-hearted, intense, kind, generous, faithful, hardworking, STRONG, and many, many other things. But most of all, she is a gift to me, and God's answer to my prayers. I love you Bethany! Can't wait to see you in just a couple weeks.