I remember...

When I think of heading back to high school to work with students, I’m reminded of the memories and experiences I had during those years. I remember the first day of high school, knowing my big brother was there to look out for me made the day much less scary. I remember the feeling of pride after scoring a goal during a field hockey game. I remember my heart rate elevating as I smiled from the top of a cheerleading stunt, praying that the girls holding me in the air would remember to catch me after letting go. I remember laughter and friends and acting out Hamlet during english class. I remember the boy my best friend and I both had a crush on all throughout high school and the silly way we would talk about him to each other. I remember the fashion and the hairstyles, and the exact table my friends and I sat at during lunch senior year. I remember thinking high school was everything, and college kids were “SO old!” I remember the heartbreak of a crush not reciprocated, or the awkward feeling of being the one who wasn’t interested. 
  
I remember the day I found out my parents were getting a divorce. I remember feeling like my world was crashing around me and there was nothing I could do about it. I remember my senior year when my best friend went to the hospital with me to visit my dying grandfather. Sitting in the parking lot at school afterwards realizing that could very well be the last time I saw him alive. I remember when that became true. I remember the feeling that no one understood what I was going through and anger that everyone else’s lives were going on like nothing was wrong, like they didn’t feel the incredible pain and agony over the fact that my beloved grandfather had gone from this world. I remember praying fervently that he was with Jesus, and that I’d see him again one day. I remember crying to Jesus that He was going to have to get me through that time because I didn’t know how my life could go on. I remember my last day of high school, realizing that it was finally over, torn between excitement for the adventures of college, and the fear of everything I’d ever known suddenly coming to an end. 

I loved high school. There were many difficult and hard days, but all in all I loved it. I had amazing friends, encouraging teachers and a God that was always there for me. I lived through some tough days, but those amazing friends were there to give me a shoulder to lean on. Those encouraging teachers were there to guide me through and point me to the Lord. And my God was there to tell me He understood that it was difficult, but promised I would never face a single day alone. 

As I think of heading back to high school with Student Venture, my desire more than anything is that the students I serve would encounter the God I serve. And in turn experience a Love like no other. That their days in high school would be filled with fun, friends and laughter, and maybe even Hamlet, but more importantly a personal, true relationship with a Savior who loves them more than they could ever know.  A Savior who covers all their fears, hurts, loneliness, insecurities, mess-ups, failed tests, and bad days with His own blood, shed on the cross for their sins, so that they can know Him personally. A Savior who cares about their day, accepts them just the way they are, and wants to be a part of their lives.

“For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” 

John 3:16

With my best friends at Senior Prom.