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| Teresa, the high school graduate (1977), and Teresa 40 years later (2017). |
May 25, 1977 - the day I graduated from high school.
May 25, 2017 - the day I take a step back and realize that's it's been 40 years since that day!
Wow, 40 years! How can this even be possible? Time has passed so quickly. I had a wonderful opportunity to go back and visit my high school 2 months ago and I hardly recognized it. But the memories are incredible.
When I was entering high school, a teacher told me, "Enjoy this time; these will be the best years of your life." And I took his words to heart.
I am one of those girls who truly loved school, especially high school. I loved learning, attending football and basketball games, singing in the school choir, acting in a few short plays, dancing, and making friends. My senior class was large (around 680 students), and I was privileged to graduate in the top 10%. My life was busy, exciting, and fun. God completely changed my life during my senior year, and I look back at those days with pure joy. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was establishing a work ethic and an attitude that would serve me well as an adult. When I look at the photos above, I still feel like the same girl. Lots of life experiences, but the same heart and the same smile.
I believe that there is significance with numbers. 40 (days, weeks, years) is usually related to testing or being tried, and each period ends with a time of blessing. Yea! I am looking forward to that! My prayer is that God will use the life experiences of the past 40 years to be a blessing in the next chapter of life.
While this blog may seem like a journal of my life stories and those of my family, I really want it to be an encouragement to anyone reading to trust the Lord in any season of life. Life is full of milestones, significant points in our development, and it is good to celebrate them! Look back and remember - live today and rejoice - look forward and dream.
If you're in school (elementary, high school, college), enjoy the ride! Study hard, establish solid friendships, live for God, and make the most of every opportunity. Trust me, the foundation you are laying as a student will follow you all the days of your life.
If you graduated recently and are anxious about the next steps in life for you, trust God that He has your future in His hands. He desires to bless you. Listen to His voice and obey - the path He has for you and the doors He will open for you will leave you astounded.
Thank you for sharing this very special day with me.
And now,
May The Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.
May The Lord show you His favor and give you His peace.
All my love,
Teresa/MamaT
I am so grateful that you taught us to celebrate the milestones we encounter in life. You encouraged us and continue to encourage us to take a step back from any and every situation to try to truly understand every lesson that a circumstance we walk through presents. You taught us the value of having a strong work ethic; that when we put our all into something we will never regret the victories each triumph brings. I'm grateful that you demanded so much from yourself--you provided an example for us to emulate. Hopefully, the "apples" don't fall far from the tree. Because you taught us how to demand from ourselves as well, we, your children, have experienced so much joy from mimicking your actions in our own lives. Thank you, Mom, for teaching us to celebrate life's moments. I am proud to call you my Mom! Love you, Mom!
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