Four Years Later

On my business trips this spring, people kept asking me how old I am. The general guess was "eighteen," which made me laugh. But then I got to thinking... what was it like to be eighteen? Four years is a long time. So I started looking back through pictures, remembering the folks I hung out with in my freshie year and what it was all like to be almost a kid. Some of you may remember these.

First off, this was me right around the time I turned eighteen.

Yup, that was in November or so, and my birthday is December 1st. Of course, the following August I was off to PHC, where I met these people:

This one was my roommate and one of my best friends... I always missed her so much over the summers!

She's off to law school now. Sometimes I remember the way she would greet the sun every morning. We had some wonderful talks about God. Here we are with our wing...

Throughout college God has blessed me with girl friendships that I truly do not deserve. Of course, I didn't deserve these characters either...

But naturally that statement could be taken several ways. <:0) Let's just say that, through good times and bad, through birthday parties and math problems, my friends were almost always available to pray, counsel, encourage, correct, and--perhaps most amazingly--hurt with me. I've written about loneliness recently, but loneliness is only half the picture, and I wouldn't be portraying God accurately if I didn't point to some of the people in my life (there are many others, most obviously and importantly my family) who have inspired laughter, provided a shoulder to lean against, and given of their precious time in order to fill my life with colors and warmth. Thank you all for that, especially considering the person I was. Thank you for still caring about me, despite the person I am. Thank you for being willing to go on caring, until I am a person who has been made utterly new.