Photographs and Memories

Last night a once dear and now sometimes friend posted some pictures from way back when.  Waaay back when.  Way back when I was a kid.  When I was full of dreams.  When life excited me.  When each day I awakened with great anticipation and expectation.  Way back when I didn't know the things I know now.

Oh, the memories that were evoked as I looked upon my former self.  My youth.  My vibrant body.  Yeah, I even only had the one chin then!  As I examined the photos and recalled the times, I found myself reaching.  For though this was once the happiest time of my life, I found myself no longer instantly recalling those childhood friends' names that I once knew as well as my own.  I pondered over where this picture was taken and what event surrounded it.  I sadly mourned as I saw faces that have been departed from this earth for some time now.  I gently recalled a boy or two or four that I once crushed on--gently, because those days version of love and today's reality of it are so vast in difference.

My friend Pam who posted these had this to say about that time period:

My heart floods me with memories as I imagine how we all had our hardships and how we hid them so well. How we were chosen because of our "circumstances" that at that time most of us were totally unaware of, I know I was. We made it this far and I hope that each and everyone of you have overcome the obstacles that brought us all together. We all had potential and I'm very thankful for the people in our lives that saw it in us at the time. Many of us may never know which teacher or person it was that referred us to be enrolled in the program. I just know that it was destined that our paths crossed and I know that I'm a better person for it. Upward Bound and the people that I met there changed my life for the better. Love to all.

Do you see those words that reflect this week's verse?  "How we were chosen..." Pam wrote.  Coincidence?  I think not!  For you see, indeed, that all things do work together for good...to the called, the chosen ones of God!  Just as in those wonderful Upward Bound Days, these Christ-filled Days allow those of us who were specially selected to be together the same opportunity as then:  to do good together.

Our pasts define us to an extent and the lessons gleaned from those long-ago days still are embedded in my heart.  As Pam also wrote "...because of our 'circumstances'..."  Oh my soul!  Had we known one another's private, secret, and sometimes shameful lives, most likely our common bonds would have only brought us closer because, you see, when we share our hearts, our souls, and our hidden demons, we allow light to permeate the darkness.  We allow hope to shine in the dim recesses of darkened hearts.  And, we allow healing to broken areas of our lives that still are tender when poked.

My Bible verse this week is "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to His purpose."  My former friends at Upward Bound taught me much about Jesus.  There were nights we gathered at the path of stairs leading to the dorms where singing, praising, and Bible Study went on.  Guitar music was strummed as unembarrassedly and unashamedly we'd sing our young hearts out to a Saviour we were just beginning to know.  Sunday mornings, my Black friends dressed to the nines as they prepared for church.  I always knew to wear a dress but there was something more vibrant about the way my Asheville High friends readied themselves and I so enjoyed seeing them enter the dorm's living room, all decked out, and joy abounding.  Fun times!  We'd watch and wait as each gal and guy made their entrance.  Whistles, laughter, and applause often ensued

We encouraged one another throughout the school year with letters and through our prayers for one another when time separated us.  A few times a year we had special reunions, because this was a summer program and we came from seven different high schools.  As we graduated from our respected institutes, we went our separate ways, occasionally running into one another somewhere.  Some of us still are in touch regularly, while others of us are Facebook Friends who--from time to time--get sweet reminders of the "good ol' days" and our hearts are once more filled with the knowledge that God used us chosen ones in a particular stance of time to do good, to work together, and to shine for Him.

Dear Lord,

As I reflect on the days of my summertime youth, it's a bittersweet feeling.  Why is it that those wondrous times couldn't go on forever?  Why separation from those we love best?  Why did the summers have to end when they were such a reprieve from "real life" and the hurts it had on standby, waiting to reclaim us and beat us down again?

Ahh, Lord:  I thank You for those high school summers and the balms they were to my heart.  I mourn those who have passed as I reflect on this time when we thought we had our whole lives ahead of us and yet--for some--those times would soon be over.

Lord?  I ask You now to bless those former friends, wherever they are and in whatever condition they may be.  Use these photos from Pam to remind them of happy times and may their memories remind them of the hope You placed in our hearts then and the hope we have now.  Our pasts don't have to prick us, Lord.  They can soothe us when we reflect on the fact that though we may have changed, You didn't.  You are the same God that chose us then and You are the same God now, still selecting us to work with new friends for good because of our love for You.  Oh, may we make You proud today is my hope.  In the name of Jesus Christ I pray.  Amen.