Oh, what is it with the nostalgia of our teen years? Ahhhh I've been revisiting many of the moments of my youth lately. As I write this, I'm listening to one of my favorite country artists - thee one and only Kenny Chesney - sing, "I Go Back."
I've experienced over the course of the past few weeks the innocence of youth! I fondly remember the few times I was able to experience innocence as a young girl. One of those times were with a guy, Jason. We were in like 8th grade I think. We both went to Homecoming alone, but he asked me to dance. We ended the night with a long kiss on that dance floor! The lights came on and we had no knowledge of it because we were just so into our own moment. I'm so surprised we didn't get into trouble by the teachers! Soon after that night, we went out on our one and only date, because he was getting ready to move away. During that date I remember sitting next to him at the movies in hopes that he would just hold my hand! I can't even remember what movie he took me to that night because I was just waiting for him to hold my hand. Oh, c'mon, you know what I'm talking about. You've experienced those times. You're not paying one bit of attention to the movie, you're paying attention as to what position his hand is in and how close it is to yours and dying to have him just take that leap of faith that you'll hold his hand back if he grabs yours. It was just innocent and beautiful!
The time of innocence in my life was very short lived, yet when I captured a few moments in my youth, I held onto those times in my memory bank. I've been thinking a ton about my best childhood friend, Hans. Let me tell you about him. Hans, was my lifesaver as a teenager! I could just be real with him. He was my safe place!! One our favorite things to do was fix cars together. Well, he would fix the cars and have me believe I broke them. LOL! He would always change the oil in my moms car for her. She was a single parent and money was tight for our family, so Hans would always help out in the area of our car. Well, one day we were at the shop together and he was teaching me how to change spark plugs. Well, I broke one off trying to take it out. Hans had me convinced for like 15 minutes that the car was irreparable!! I was freaking out. Then of course after my series of panic attacks, he busted out laughing! I chased him all over that shop trying to punch him! Hans and I had so much fun down at that shop. That was our place I think. I enjoyed our crazy times so much! They were innocent times!
Recently I've been building a friendship with someone that takes me back to that place of innocence in my heart. He has so many of the character traits that remind me soooooo much of Hans. He's genuine, and kind, and just real!! As he and I have spent time together, I just notice how easy it is to be with him. It's relaxing and refreshing to me.
Why God is "taking me back" to those times of my life, I'm not sure. I can tell you, it is ministering greatly to my heart! Obviously, He wants to restore something in my heart that I think was broken as a child. See, God never forgets about any detail of your life. You can be so far over past hurts in your life, but God never ever forgets about them and He'll touch your heart and make it new. He's the God of restoration and reconciliation. He will leave no place untouched in your life if you allow Him full access!
I wanted to share this with you because I think at times we forget that God knows you intimately - whether you know Him or not. He's in the business of restoring our lives! He cares about everything - even those times that are long gone in your mind. This journey we call life and being human can wreak havoc in our hearts. Yet, when you realize that God's got your heart and will supernaturally heal those broken places if you let Him, and make your life experience better than it ever would have been, is miraculous!!! I love that God knows all things!!! I love that He is my safe place to fall!! I love that He saw beyond the temporal and gave us the eternal in Jesus! Ahhhh the extravagant love of God!!!!
Letting His love wreck my life in an amazing way,
TDahl
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