Birthday Party in 2nd Grade With Girls in my class, a cousin and my brother.

A few of our early Class reunions are best left forgotten. Immaturity by some, led to distress for all. Maybe, we just needed to prove our worth back then. Twenty years later, time had changed even the most immature among us. Our angst had mellowed. We no longer needed to prove our worth and value to childhood peers.

I grew up in a rural community, where all grade levels were in one building. Of the original 25 in our 1st grade class, 20 of us made it through  twelve years together. Along the way, we added and subtracted classmates, until in our senior year there were 32 of us. Some of the markers of our years are found in gravestones. Too many of our class members have succumbed to cancer, heart attack or other diseases.

One of my joys in a class reunion, is discovering how each person has continued to grow as an individual. How have they used their lives? What challenges have been faced? How have life experiences shaped and formed the person I knew?

We gathered again this week, in another milestone anniversary. Today, we are far more concerned with each other’s well being, than claiming status. Instead it was a time of celebrating our journeys, and the faithfulness of the One who has journeyed with us.

“I will still be the same
when you are old and gray,
and I will take care of you.
I created you. I will carry you
and always keep you safe.” Isaiah 46:4 CEV