I am going to let you all in on a little secret.....40 years is a long, long time.  A couple of weekends ago I attended my 40th high school reunion.  It is amazing just how much one can forget over the course of 40 years.  Oh we had reunions at 10 and 20 years.  I don't know what happened that we missed the 25 or 30 year one...but somehow those years simply flew off the radar and our class deemed them unimportant to celebrate.

Anyway...I have to say that I was so surprised by how much I enjoyed being there.  Of course, there were still the same old crowd that hung together and had their mini reunions inside the bigger one, but for the most part, everyone seemed glad to see one another.  The funny thing was that no one remembered there being a division of status at all.  There isn't one now obviously, but when we were in high school...it absolutely existed.  Isn't it funny how we see everything differently with adult eyes?  I wish we could make our children see that we do know what we are talking about when we tell them that age changes perspective.  It truly does.

I am not saying that anyone in my graduating class was discriminated against.  I am not saying that anyone thought more highly of themselves.  It was high school after all.  We didn't know there was any difference in our status in society.  We were simply a group of kids enjoying growing up together and experiencing all that life had to offer.

I was 16 years old my entire senior year of high school, and was what many would refer to as a "goody-two-shoes" girl.  Never skipped a class, never smoked or drank, didn't sneak out at night...and the list could go on and on.  "Goody-two-shoes"!  Therefore, when I went to the aforementioned reunion many people recognized my face but didn't have many memories of me attending the parties discussed during the weekend.  I grew up in a very sheltered existence.  For that I am eternally grateful.  
I never struggled with some of the difficulties that many of my former classmates have endured.  Not because I am better but maybe because I chose a different path.

My life has been rich and full of laughter and joy.  Oh, sure there have been trials but there has always been someone bigger than me to carry me through.  I had a wonderful time reconnecting with old friends and actually making new acquaintances with people that I should probably have known 40 years ago but maybe was too intimidated and immature to even make conversation.  Isn't it amazing how age changes things?  I could walk up to anyone now and immerse myself in their lives.

It all comes down to this...people are people.  All we are called to do is love them and share Christ with them every chance we get.  I hope everyone I reconnected with at my "40th High School Reunion" knows that above all else I am a follower of Jesus.  Everything else is just icing on the cake of life:)