10 years and counting...

Boy, does time fly by! I used to think older people were crazy when they would talk about how fast time flies. Funny how when we are young that we can't wait to grow up, but once we are grown up we want back our childhood. Why is it that as we get older time does seem to fly by? Is it because we have more responsibilities? Maybe so. It seems that I have to be more conscious sometimes to just enjoy the moment for it can pass by so quickly.

For the past two weekends, I've had the opportunity to attend 2 different reunions.

The first reunion was my high school reunion. I actually did not attend this one because of a few different reasons, but the main one is because the friends that I was closest to in high school are from out of state and was unable to attend. However, I did take the opportunity to look back on my 10 years after high school. I reflected on where I thought I'd be while in high school, and where I'm actually at today. 10 years ago, today, as a senior I was probably in the middle of a soccer and cross country season taking classes like Honors English 3 and Calculus to prepare me for college *I know, nerd alert*. I actually enjoyed school. I've always like learning new things and perusing topics that interested me. I wasn't in the "in" crowd, although, I do think that people around school knew me due to my highly involvement in sports. I could be wrong about that. I didn't hang out in the cool hall, which didn't bother me none, since it was extremely crowed and filled with people who I thought wanted to be popular if they weren't already. I hung out with a group of girls, just like any other teenager, trying to survive high school. I really enjoyed the times we spent together - school dances, sleepovers, Grand Isle, talks about life, joining the drama club all together - making stage hand t-shirts, our bench down gym hall. I'll spare you from my memory lane entirely. During my senior year, I remember writing an essay about what my future plans were for a college scholarship (that I thankfully received!). I remember writing that my plans were to attend Nicholls State University and receive a Bachelor's degree in Secondary Education with a concentration in Mathematics within 4 years. (In Jr. High I discovered I wanted to be either a math or science teacher, and in high school I narrowed my choice to math - thanks to great math teachers!). After graduating, I was going to move back to the bayou and teach at my former alumni. I thought by this point, which would barely make me 21, I'd own a house, be married and started a family. I didn't really date much in high school, since I figured I'd meet my mate in college. I thought I'd continue to live on the bayou, not far from where I grew up all my life. Could this all be possible by the age of 21? I'm sure it could have, but did it? Not entirely. You see, God had some slightly different plans, and I couldn't be more thankful for those plans.

Well, I did receive my bachelor's in Secondary Ed. - Math but in 4 1/2 years. My last semester was when Katrina hit. It was the most trying semester I had ever experienced in my college career. It was devastating enough to see the damage in my area and see the devastation going on in New Orleans. But I was also going through student teaching. The hardest semester for an education major. (To sum it up, you get thrown into a classroom under a teacher where you are expected to do his/her job, except without the pay, and write lesson plans that satisfy the strict looooong conditions for college.) My classroom size even grew after Katrina, since the evacuated students had to go to school somewhere. I also started to question my career choice since I did NOT enjoy student teaching. I loved to teach, but this just wasn't working. Lots of tears were shed. By this point, I was also starting to realize that I hadn't met my "Mr. Right" and wouldn't be married and start a family by the age of 21. (Crazy, I know.) I had moments where I began to think I'd be single the rest of my life. Then God brought graduate school into the picture. Grad school? Are you crazy? I'm tired of school and not making money. But I somehow stumbled upon a brochure that talked about a fairly new graduate program at Nicholls. So I made a deal with God. Ok, if You can make it possible, I'll give it a try. (How silly does this sound?) So I took the GRE - just scored the amount I needed. I received a grad assistant position to where almost all my schooling was paid for and I got to teach a class at Nicholls and make a little bit of extra money. I'm pretty sure God wanted me in grad school. Here's another interesting fact, I graduated college with four other girls in math ed, and all four wanted to go back and get their masters, but me. Well, here's where God has a sense of humor: I'm the only one who immediately went back to get their masters. (You can read about my grad school struggles HERE.) A guy that I was friends with during my undergraduate studies turned into a romance (I'll spare you the details ;) during my graduate studies who then became my amazing husband at the end of both of our college careers. We married eight years after my high school graduation - in case you are keeping track. We had decided to move to New Orleans. Which you can read about some of my feelings on that HERE. I recently purchased a home, which you can read about HERE. That's ten years since I graduated high school. I haven't started a family, YET, but hope to one day. :) Oh, and I'm not teaching at my alumni. I'm teaching math at Delgado Community College and LOVE it. It's been quite a journey. I'm sure I will continue to make plans, and I'm sure God will continue to change them.

The second reunion that I was able to attend was a special college reunion. College reunion? That's not really a normal one - I know. As a freshmen in college, I was invited by a high school friend to the BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministries). I quickly found out from this friend that I might not have been known around high school for my sports, but as a church girl. Well, I was a Christian and did attend church regularly, so I just accepted this and decided to attend with her. Today, I'm incredibly grateful that I went. Through the BCM I grew. I grew spiritually and as a person. This is the place where I met true friends that have impacted my life, forever. I learned the basics of Christianity. I was introduced to Christian music (other than what played on Lifesongs). I truly enjoyed corporate worship in song. I learned what it meant to disciple and be discipled. God gave me a love and opportunities for short term mission trips. During spring break I went on 3 mission trips to Mexico and 1 to Mississippi. I spent 2 entire summers in Glorieta, New Mexico working at a Lifeway Conference Center as a Day Camp leader. (btw, best summers of my life) I spent many weekends in my spring semester as a Jr. High girl D-Now leader. I was stretched. Taken out of my comfort zone. I learned so much about my faith and gained a deeper love for my God. The BCM wasn't just about spiritual things either. We had fun! Tons of fun. Every Thursday we would play ultimate frisbee in the front yard of school (I gained the nickname Professor X while in grad school). We had themed banquets, dances, game nights, dinner together at the Siz! (that's Western Sizzlin for short - Thanks to the $1.99 burger and fry coupon in the Nicholls Worth.) flag football intermural teams, tailgating for football games, volleyball, card games, ping pong, camping trips, etc. Also, this is where I met my husband. All this to say that the campus minister, after 20 years, is retiring in December. As a retirement party, he had a reunion. Any student from 1992 - 2011 could attend. It was a two day event: Friday night was a worship service where the band Insitu reunited, people shared what the BCM meant to them (we even had a few skype in), and had a challenging word from a frequent speaker at the B, Robby Gallaty. I kinda got emotional, sitting in the second row next to the girl that invited me to the BCM (just like old times). I couldn't help but think how far I've come since then, and the opportunities I took advantage of while in college with the BCM. The Friday night service followed up with dinner at the Siz. They stayed open late just for us! Saturday, we had a huge bbq complete with ultimate frisbee, volleyball, and flag football (just like old times). It was amazing to reconnect with old friends face to face and hear of their journey of where God has taken them since the BCM. I learned one thing about this reunion, you never know where God will lead you, you just have to be open to it. Thank you Brother T for all your time investing into our lives.

So where am I today since the BCM? Well, my husband and I quickly found a church after getting married - the Vineyard New Orleans. We joined a young adult group and found some great friends. We led an Alpha table. We then dedicated a year to the School of Kingdom living - which you can read about what I learned HERE. This class really taught me how to apply the basics that I had learned in the BCM to everyday life. I also began to understand what I believed and why I believe. Incredible class! I'm learning how to bring heaven to earth. How to love others. How to enjoy/experience heaven on earth myself. I've been enjoying reading books to take my spiritual journey to a deeper level and discussing them with friends. I even went on a short term mission trip to Zambia, Africa. You can read about that HERE. Pretty neat that even though I'm in the next stage of my life, that God still is stretching me, taking me out of my comfort zone, teaching me, and gives me opportunities to serve - even short missions! OH and of course I'm having tons of fun in the process. :)

I'm so grateful for these reunions for it gave me a few days to step back and look at the journey thus far. Sometimes we can get caught up in the negative details of life, we forget to look back and see how faithful God has been to us. Thanks for reading about mine.
-Miche