In a few months I will go to my fiftieth high school reunion. This is a courageous step, since I haven’t attended any of the previous reunion events along the way. But I’ve been curious to see what my classmates have done in their lives ever since graduation. Thankfully the organizers set up a website, so we can fill out profiles and publically respond to one another before the in-person reunion date. The former students now are spread all across the country and even around the world.

Those daily optional online interactions have prompted me to recall long-past memories and friendships, now viewed in a wider context of the decades we’ve lived in between. High school years can be dramatic enough for anyone, and I’m now glimpsing how many people have grown through (or out of) those teenage experiences, into some wonderful vocations of improving people’s lives.

Whether or not I get to see old friends at the reunion, it will be an opportunity to make new ones. As God told Isaiah, “See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare – before they spring forth, I tell you of them!” Reunions are a small reminder that God offers us learnings not only from the past, but also in every new moment, to form what can become a beautiful tapestry of grace.

Your partner in ministry,
Betsy Schwarzentraub