The significance of my childhood in my life.

I attended the wedding of a dear family friend last night.  This child, whom I used to babysit, no longer is a child, but a beautiful young woman starting her own life as a newlywed. 

The wedding was short and sweet-the reception was not.  Talk about fun.  We danced, ate, drank, danced, talked, squealed, hugged, danced, and reminisced the entire night, surrounded by those many familiar faces that I will always know no matter how long I am gone from my childhood home. 

These people helped to shape me into the person I am today.   They gave me such a sense of community and love.  We grew up at CUMC and that church truly was our family.  We kids are all grown up now with kids of our own, but I felt like a kid again being in their presence.  I just slid right back into my role as Paula and Fred’s daughter, or one of the Inman girls, just as if no time had passed.

If my parents had not chosen Cabot as our home, we would not have known any of them.  They were church leaders, my piano teacher, family friends, dad's patients, community business people, and Sunday School teachers.  I babysat their children, lifeguarded for them at the country club summer after summer, and experienced the ups and downs of life through their watchful eyes.  I know their stories, their personalities, their strengths and weaknesses.  I know their moms and dads and grandparents.  I have seen them get married and I have seen some of them die. I now realize that they were so significant to my life while I was learning who I was supposed to become.

Everyone has childhood memories.  Some are unremarkable, but mine are so intertwined with my being.  I was shaped by them and still I look to the most special people for guidance and reassurance, especially now that one of the most significant people in my life is no longer here.

It's not as easy as it was 30 years ago.  Things are not as safe and we don’t live in a small town.  I do hope, though, that I can give me kids the same important relationships that they will always cherish, even when they are busy adults with kids of their own.  My kids will take piano.  They will sing in the church choir, join the youth group and play handbells.  They will get to try all of the things they want to try so that they can confidently make the best decisions for their futures.

To be part of the wedding last night was one of the highlights of my year. Being considered part of such a precious family is one of the greatest gifts God has ever given me.  I know my sisters agree that it is so humbling to share their past. 

Ultimately, we have our parents to thank for that.  They chose our community.  They chose which friendships to cultivate.  They chose to give us every opportunity to try everything we wanted to try.   I am so thankful, yet I feel undeserving.  How did I get to be so lucky?  Even today.  I still wonder and am truly moved by God’s gifts.  I believe that my past is one of His gifts and I will always be in awe of it.