One moment in time

I stumbled across this while I was dusting this afternoon.

For those of you that did not attend CHS it is my senior year book.  I'm not even sure why it is on the book shelf.  All the other stuff from high school is stored in a box somewhere.  I pondered on a few things as I flipped through the book.

1.  Picture quality before digital was terrible.  Most of the candids in the book are grainy and dark.    I  never noticed all those years ago.

2. I still think everyone looks like those pictures.  Even now that facebook has reconnected me with most of my high school friends and we are all in our mid 30's,  when I think of them they look 18!

3.  It is funny how you remember strange things.  There is a picture of a friend of mine at prom.  All the pictures in our year book are black and white - except our senior shots.   The prom picture is black & white but I can tell you the dress is blue.  I still remember what it looks like.

4.   I'm amazed at how many people I had forgotten about.

5.   I found the page with the senior awards night list.  I won, along with 3 of my friends, the most outstanding home ec club member.  (Yes- I was in home ec club, in fact  I was an officer all 4 years of high school.)  The thing I found funny was that 3 of the 4 of us are stay at home moms!  

The thing I always think about with high school is how fast it really went by.  In all of my years of youth ministry, I remember trying to convince the kids - what these people think of you won't matter in 10 years.  But I remember at the time it seemed like high school would never end, and that what was going on then was the most important thing ever.  That every decision I made would affect my life forever.  In some ways it did.  I met my husband in high school.  I got serious about my faith in high school.  I developed an awesome relationship with my brothers in high school.  But the other things; what dress to buy for prom, should I take senior english or creative writing,  should I get a job or bum off of my parents?  Those things don't matter so much now.

So as I look back over the last 17 years and think of those pictures in the year book, they are but small shots of a year of my life.  How different my life was then to how it is now.  How different I am than the girl in those pictures.  Yes, in a lot of ways I am the same person.  Still shy in new situations.  Still too talkative once I get to know you.  Still one to try to blend in and not stick out.  But I also hope I am more compassionate, more loving, and more genuine in my faith.  That others see Christ's love in me not  condemnation.   As I run into people from back then I constantly have to remind myself they are also not who they were back then.  That those pictures of our past are only one moment in time!