As I've mentioned once before, I don't really write about my life in high school. It was a challenging time, poor teen dealing with newly divorced parents, and I am now a different person who doesn't spend a lot of time pondering the days of yesteryear.
However........after changing my mind a dozen times, I walked into my 20 year high school reunion Saturday night. That different me, the one living in northwest Houston in May 1991, came flooding back. It wasn't a bad me or a good me, but the insecurities sure reared their ugly head. My husband watched me flip-flop about whether to attend the reunion right up to the time when we parked at the hotel. And since he was no fan of high school, he thought my decision to attend was a little wacky.
We walked in and saw a couple of folks I knew. As the crowd grew, I visited with a few more people from the days of old. I saw a boy I'd had a crush on, a girl who I'd studied with, and a few people who I've kept distantly up to speed with via Facebook. What made the entire outing completely worth it was seeing one of my best friends from high school who became my college roommate and who I had not seen since my wedding! But otherwise, as I told my mom who babysat for us, it was painless to attend but I would have been perfectly fine skipping it too. Apparently, I still look the same (that's probably not a compliment if you grew up in the 80s), but the outside is not at all reflective of me now (except for my improved fashion sense)..........
So what did I come away with? A sense of gratitude. A sense of overflowing appreciation for the Lord's rich bounty poured out over my life. If you look at statistics, girl with divorced parents at 12 with lower socio-economic status, absentee father, body image issues, etc., then the charts don't project my current life. The me of today wouldn't turn up on the statistician's graphs of likely results. But I don't worship a God of statistics and averages. I serve a God of miracles. Big miracles. So I loved being re-confronted with the 1991 version of myself. It was a blessed reminder of the goodness of God. I have a good life. With a faithful husband, healthy children, supportive parents and friends, a fulfilling job, and the once-elusive stability. Those two hours at the reunion were fine, nothing in and of itself for me to write about, but the reunion's spotlight over the past 20 transformative years was worth every penny I paid. I've got a long way yet to go in this journey I am on, but I know now more than ever that any success or happiness I have found is because of of a great God, full of grace and surprises.
Ephesians 3 - Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory...
2 Samuel 7 - “Who am I, Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign LORD, is for a mere human! “What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign LORD. For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant. “How great you are, Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears...“And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The LORD Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight. “LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”
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