Ten Years Ago TODAY!

It doesn't seem like it can have been ten years. In some ways, it feels like it's maybe been four years, five at the most. But in other ways, it feels like it's been a lifetime. Ten years ago today, I was confirmed.

In my church tradition, we do baptism of infants and then, when we are older, we go through a class where we learn all about our faith. If we say, yes, that's what I believe, we are then "confirmed" in our faith and in our church. We claim the faith we were baptized into as our own and publicly confess that we intend to walk in that faith for the rest of our lives, by the grace and help of God.

I thought I was claiming my faith when I got confirmed. I meant what I said, but I was so young and still had a lot to learn. (And I'm in no way claiming I have it all figured out now!) It wasn't until closer to the end of high school that I really began to take Bible study and prayer seriously.

These last ten years have brought a LOT of ups and downs. I've faced some major challenges when life flipped upside-down and the rug was ripped out from underneath my feet. I've walked through dry spells in my faith and prayer is still a struggle many days. But I've learned a lot and, even when things are hard, even when I've been mad at God, I fight for the relationship. I know that it's all too easy for me to walk away from the most important relationship I have. I certainly don't always feel it, but what I know doesn't change.

There is a photo here of my confirmation frame. About half of these people are no longer in my life. That's hard for me. There are a lot of new people in my life, for whom I am very thankful. Many of the events of the last ten years are not things I would have chosen for myself, but the faith of those I admire the most came through trials. Great faith comes through great challenges.

We just had confirmation for this year's class. One of the girls is someone I used to watch at our church's MOPS group! This getting older thing means that everyone else gets older too :) It's kind of weird, because I don't feel old enough for some of these things that are happening. Like my cousin learning to drive. How can we both be old enough for that?

If you're still here, you're amazing! I'm not sure exactly what I'm trying to communicate today with this post. I guess you're just getting a glimpse into my life and thoughts. I always love hearing from you in the comments, if this touched you or you've gone through something similar.