Fortunate

I was thinking about the directions my life has taken, not just recently but my whole life. I came to the conclusion that I am very fortunate to have had the experiences I did and continue to have.

I was able to go to a very prestigious private school for high school where I learned more than I ever learned in college. In fact, my high school courses were much more challenging than any course I took in college. I did not even take AP classes!

My high school was not just great for the academics it offered. It was there that I gained a love and passion for Bible doctrine and learning all I can about what I believe as a Christian. I remember sitting in Mr. Clemmer's Bible Doctrine class, a class all 9th graders are required to take, and was completely fixated on the topic. I wanted to learn more! When I told my dad how much I loved it he told me I was crazy because, having gone to seminary, he found doctrine completely boring. I never understood why better understanding what Christianity teaches is boring. Justification, Sanctification, Redemption, Free Will, Predestination, etc! Then in 12th grade we were required to take Apologetics so we could explain to others what we believed and were taught to defend it. I even was fortunate enough to take a Disciplship class, where a teacher mentored me and 4 other girls and encouraged us in our faith.

These are opportunities that I wish for every high school student and are huge contributors to my passion for seeing high school youth prepared.

After my four years were up, I moved on to college and was very fortunate to be able to attend my first choice school, Greenville College. It was my first choice school because it had a CCM major, a major that was unique to them at the time. I was, of course, going to be the next Amy Grant and knew that I needed to go to Greenville to accomplish this goal. After a few music classes my first semester I realized that music is not what I wanted to do with my life. It was something I enjoyed and did not like making work out of it so that I dreaded it.

Point is, at Greenville, I made about the greatest friends anyone could ever have! I am so fortunate enough to know that I can still contact any one of them and they would be happy to hear from me and we could pick up right where we left off. Also, most of us are still in communication, even if that communication is through blogging (see Val, Jodie, Sarita, Lola, Brian and Gravity Well) and AIM. We had the best times of our lives there. Whether it was Radio shows, meals in the DC, Spanish house living rooms, first all nighters, trips to Pokey, declaring yourself saved for Steve Thompson, 2nd Tenney, the Crack House, snack names, "hiding" rock stars, 2nd Joy, 4th Marston, claiming freshmen, suprise parties, frosting obsessions, silly books that never were written or friendly dictatorships, great memories were made that will be cherished forever. I am very fortunate to have them.

Then, I had the opportunity to move to Chicago. Here I learned to live on my own and have reponsibilities. I learned to venture out on my own. I learned to navigate through a large city. I learned to try something new. I learned that life is full of disappointments as much as it is filled with happiness. It is up to me to find the happiness and make the most of the disappointments. I learned to love Lou Malnotti's pizza. I learned to find a home on my own. I learned to make friends. I learned to find a church. I learned to get involved. I learned to grow up. I learned to make very difficult choices.

I miss Chicago very much and really wish I was back there but I know I am where I need to be now. In fact, I am very fortunate to be where I am. I have a family who loves me and I have a great job at a wonderful company. In fact, I am very fortunate to have the parents I do because they were always supportive of me, even when I did not feel like they were. They allowed me to experience all that I did and never asked me not to go to Chicago, though they missed me, and never asked me to come home when they saw me struggling, because they knew I was where I wanted to be.

I have to keep reminding myself that for each of these phases in my life, I was there for about a year before things started to meld and I felt I belonged. It is very difficult to go through changes but they are necessary and I know good things will come of it. It is just a testing period in my life. There is something for me here.

"Whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance in fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything." James 1:2-4