Reflections on an old yearbook
Friday, December 03, 2004
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Yesterday I had a chance to look at something I hadn't seen in years...my senior year high school yearbook...1996! I brought all my yearbooks back with me from Arkansas while I was with my family at Thanksgiving. As I looked at all the pictures, particularly the seniors, I got a variety of emotions. I laughed a lot as I looked at funny pictures of old friends. I smiled a lot at pictures of best friends. I felt proud of the group pictures in band and choir thinking about all we accomplished together. But as I went picture-by-picture through the seniors, I recalled my relationship with each person. It seems like I had four categories.
1. True friend
2. Shallow friend
3. Neutral person (for example, a football guy--not a friend or an enemy, just never really crossed paths)
4. This fourth one might surprise you. I'm naming it, "Should have been a friend." These should-have-been-a-friend pictures left me feeling a little empty and sad and regretful. I could look back now and remember how friendly this person was or how that person always smiled at me as if looking for a friend and hoping to find one in me. I think and hope that I was always nice and respectful but I didn't always cross the line to friendship. I see now that I could have had a great friend had I not worried so much about being popular or what some of my other "friends" might have thought.
The convicting part is, I know Jesus would have been their friend. He would have made friends with those who were lonely, those who had no friends, those who weren't smart by school standards, those who would never make "best dressed" or "most likely to succeed."
By the grace of God, I can change how I make friends now. I want to make friends, not based on what they do or look like, but based on who they are--fellow humans made in the image of God.
1. True friend
2. Shallow friend
3. Neutral person (for example, a football guy--not a friend or an enemy, just never really crossed paths)
4. This fourth one might surprise you. I'm naming it, "Should have been a friend." These should-have-been-a-friend pictures left me feeling a little empty and sad and regretful. I could look back now and remember how friendly this person was or how that person always smiled at me as if looking for a friend and hoping to find one in me. I think and hope that I was always nice and respectful but I didn't always cross the line to friendship. I see now that I could have had a great friend had I not worried so much about being popular or what some of my other "friends" might have thought.
The convicting part is, I know Jesus would have been their friend. He would have made friends with those who were lonely, those who had no friends, those who weren't smart by school standards, those who would never make "best dressed" or "most likely to succeed."
By the grace of God, I can change how I make friends now. I want to make friends, not based on what they do or look like, but based on who they are--fellow humans made in the image of God.
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But Casey! By our very human nature, we gravitate towards those who hold similar likes and ideals. There are many people on this campus, including those who attend the UCSC, that I casually avoid just because we are so different. I guess I can say that I'm in a similar boat. Care to help me change?
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