Who would have thought that a slice of cake would change the entire trajectory of my life. I certainly didn’t. Lynn most definitely didn’t. But God, God knew. He knew that friendship cake would put me on a path I could have never dreamed up on my own. It was a single, insignificant moment that ignited the most influential friendship of my life- my friendship with Lynnie.
It was the summer of 2014. I had just finished my sophomore year at Point Loma Nazarene University, and I was spending the summer interning at Windward Church of the Nazarene. It was the morning after Mission Overnight and there was leftover tres leches cake being served for breakfast. Tres leches cake is my favorite, and I am lazy. So of course I made the girl- whom I did not know- get up and get me a slice of cake. I don’t know if I should be embarrassed that I’m so bossy or in awe of how mysteriously God works, but tres leches cake- friendship cake- changed my life.
The girl I didn’t know turned into my summer slave. Every day she would come to the office and help me with whatever I needed no matter how strange, challenging, or flat out stupid the task was. One day I made her clean out rat poop from a treasure chest, and the next day I made her practice dance moves in the office with me to practice for VBS. Yet no matter how wild the request, she kept coming back. She wouldn’t admit it at the time, but she liked me. And just as all good things come to an end, so too did the summer of 2014 come to an end. I said goodbye, she denies crying when I left, and that was it.
We kept in touch even though we were an ocean away. She would ask me hard questions, and I would stay awake despite the time difference to answer them. She wondered why youth group was important, and I told her that iron sharpens iron. She never believed that I would come back, and I proved her wrong and did it.
That’s what did it for me. Coming back solidified my love and passion for a place so strong that I knew I wasn’t going to leave the same. So, had she not teased me all along I would have never came back, I might not have been so driven to prove her wrong. And in coming back I realized that leaving her a second time would only hurt if she thought I wasn’t going to be back soon. So for each time I left I made sure to come back. I came back again and again and again, and then I never left.
I moved into her house. I became part of her family. I am in Hawaii because of Lynnie.
Because she was kind enough to get a complete stranger a slice of cake. Because she put up with my obnoxious demands. Because she trusted me and depended on me in times of confusion. She changed my life without even knowing it. She was herself- honest and real. I was myself- open and willing. And God did what He does- miracles and monumental moments. Now this is what my life looks like- wonderful and amazing. Because of Lynn.