Much to my amazement, most people don't feel quite the same way about high school as I do. I. Loved. It. I loved my friends, my freedom, the football games, my teachers. Loved it. Tim teases me mercilessly because most people say they'd never go back, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Although most of my high school friends have scattered across the country (or the state, anyway) I still have the occasional privilege of running into people and catching up. There seems to be less "catching up" to do now that facebook rules our lives, but that's for a whole different post.
I had a fun opportunity to meet up with Lexi today. Lexi and I didn't go to the same high school, but we were in the same youth group and shared a lot of the same friends. We grabbed a quick lunch and chatted for a while, but it was such a pleasure for me, and I can tell you exactly why.
Lexi is honest. The thing I despise most about running into people from high school is the "look how well I've done for myself, life is great, no complaints, couldn't be better" conversations that usually take place. With few exceptions, most people are more concerned about conveying that they've "arrived" than they are about really sharing their story.
This is ironic, because when you look back on what connected you in high school, it wasn't just the fact that you were the same age and lived in the same city and walked the same halls. More than that, it was the fact that you were growing and learning together, sharing your problems, leaning on each other, and figuring out life. I think (I'm actually practically positive) that as we get older, we do less and less of this. In the interest in looking like we have it all figured out, we stop talking about the tough stuff life throws our way, and our friendships become shallow and lifeless.
This brings me back to Lexi. Lunch with her was a breath of fresh air. She talked about all the great things she's done over the last 7 years (she's a bio-medical engineer and she's traveled the world... woah!) but she also talked about some tough stuff. She's made decisions she regrets and has found herself in a few surprising places. And who hasn't? But why don't we TALK to each other about it?
Conversations like this aren't just important in the interest of deepening friendships, they are important in the interest of praising our God! As Christians, we are ineffective if we aren't willing to talk about the tough places sin has taken us and the sweet way that the Lord draws us back to Him. Sometimes life throws us curves, and sometimes we take the wrong path, but unwillingness to talk about our "tests" leaves us without a testimony.
Darryl Worley said it well, "I love this crazy, tragic, sometimes almost magic, awful beautiful life." Life is all over the board, and that's the beauty of it. The Lord blesses us on top of everything else. It's a journey orchestrated by His grace, in spite of us. DO tell. And DO tell the truth.
