Flashback

Earlier today, I posted a picture on my college alum group page on facebook.  It's not one of the better pics I took, but it is of the central point of campus.

The quality definitely could be better, and this is the scanned version of a very old picture.  But the memories it brings back are pretty vivid.  This is where I learned so much about life (laundry, sharing a room and a bathroom, working several jobs, and getting an education).

I went to a small Lutheran college in Ann Arbor, MI.  My freshman year at Concordia Lutheran College, Ann Arbor was the first year BAs were awarded (the college began as a 2 year college in 1963; the majority of students transferred to larger Lutheran colleges to complete their education).  My high school graduating class was approximately 600 students; the entire student population at Concordia my freshman year was approximately 600.

When I arrived at Concordia as a freshman, I was painfully shy and knew two people on campus.  I think I cried the first two weeks there, and then never looked back.  I was blessed to live in a dorm filled with wonderful Christian women each of my years Con-U (as we called it then), and was surrounded by people who encouraged (and sometimes dragged me into) my Christian growth.  Professors and staff members are very fondly remembered for the Christian example they lived.  By the time I finally graduated, I had been editor of the yearbook, Resident Assistant, worked on the Campus Security Department, and had worked three summers on campus in a variety of roles.

It has been amazing to get back in touch w/ many of my fellow students via facebook.  We've shared stories of the crazier things we did as students, helped other friends re-connect, prayed for each other, and helped get information from the right source at the right time.  It's been a few decades since I've seen some of these beautiful lights in my life, but almost without exception, we've picked up as if there had been no interruption.  Not where we left off, but where we each are now, recognizing we are not the same 22-23 year olds who were sure they knew everything, but more experienced in both blessings and sadness and aware of the millions of things we don't know.

Am I idealizing the situation?  Maybe a little, but not much.  I hear the refrain from one of Michael W. Smith's songs almost every time I visit the alum group page . . . Friends ARE friends forever If the Lord's the Lord of them . . .