First writing prompt from class

 Here is my initial writing from the one of our first classes about experiencing beauty 


A few days ago I invited my friend to a late night service at a small church in williamsburg that meets in a coffee shop. It was a prophetic service, where we were trained in how to hear God's voice and share what we believed to be hearing with others. We had an exercise where everyone was supposed to ask Jesus how he saw the somebody else in the room. I was really praying for my friend to be encouraged by the service and this activity really blessed her. One man looked over at my friend and said he thought God had called her to be a “heart healer” and elaborated about what that meant for several minutes. For context, my friend is a mental health counselor who works with troubled youth, many of which struggle with suicidal and homicidal ideations. I saw as she listened to the strangers words that it deeply reasoned with her. She felt seen, and not just by people, but by God himself. It was as if the God of the universe took the time to point out in front of a room of people just how pleased he was in the person. I saw the beauty of her heart laid bare before the small community as her tears followed. I saw the beauty of a room of strangers suddenly becoming intimate friends as we laid hands on her and prayed for her. I saw visitors and children who were hesitant to believe any of this was real, eyes fill with wonder. Afterwards she thanked me for inviting her and asked to give me a hug

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