To Be Continued

Greetings from the friendly skies somewhere over the eastern United States! As I type this, Hamp and I are winging our way toward Atlanta for my 35th high school reunion weekend. (For the record, AirTran does have wi-fi on board flights now, but I’m typing this in Word and will copy it into my blog later. I figure since we upgraded to business class to eliminate luggage fees, we should save on the connection fee. Dave Ramsey would be proud!)

Combined with the events of the last few days in Baltimore with City Uprising, heading home to reconnect with part of my past life is resulting in lots of pondering for me. I’m obviously not the same person that graduated from Campbell High School in 1974 anymore. In fact, I’ve been many different people since then with each phase adding to the tapestry that makes me who I am today. There have been times in my life that I didn’t want anything to do with my past, choosing instead to pretend it didn’t matter anymore. But as time has gone by, I've realized that my whole being is made up of many parts and until I can embrace my story and love who I am because of it, I don’t think moving forward is really possible. And really, my story isn’t the point anyway. God has been writing His story before time ever began and the good news is that He’s invited us to be part of it. I lose that perspective often, but when I take time to remember that truth, I can let the people, experiences, and events that are no longer part of my life wander throughout my heart knowing that they did matter to me. Yes, sometimes it hurts and sometimes I smile, but slowly I’m beginning to have a clue that it’s what makes me who I am and that it’s OK.

Today is a day like that and I am thankful for the grace in my yesterdays, the peace for today, and for the joy in anticipating what God has ahead. And that’s what makes my story one that is to be continued.