I would say I am a people person. I like people a lot. I would even go as far as to say I think people are the most interesting creation in the entire universe.
I also enjoy talking. In fact, I can converse for hours on end, with pretty much anyone, because like I said, I like people.
However, I am particularly fond of a certain two girls. And I am particularly fond of conversing with these two girls. They truly are the most beautiful, interesting people I know. I am genuinely blessed to have the two best friends I could ever ask for.
Who would have thought that three 11 year old girls, coming from three different "rival" elementary schools, who were completely new to the chaos and drama of a middle schooler's life, would be best friends forever? Although new to the wild jungle of the halls of Ridley Middle School, I'd say we caught on rather quickly, and together we learned to survive the heartbreaks and misdemeanors of a middle schooler's life. But the funny thing is, sometimes one of us accidently caused the heartbreak of another. I can remember one specific night at a Ridley Park firehouse dance (if you don't know what that is, I'm not sure that you want to know) where my heart was broken into a million pieces as I watched my best friend kiss the boy I was "crushin badly" on. And then, we had a sleep over afterwards. Awkward? I think so. And sometimes, one of us accidently ratted out the other. Among the three of us was "the girl who never turned down a dare." When the entire Language Arts class was together given the liberty of a "bathroom break," we couldn't simply go to the bathroom, return to class, then continue on with our work. Naturally, we dared the infamous "never turn down a dare" girl to go into the boys' bathroom. Little did we know that we were being watched by another authority figure, who proceeded to follow us into our classroom and tell our teacher that they saw one of us three enter through the door of the boys' bathroom. When I was pointed out as the suspect, I came very close to putting the blame on my best friend and accurately identifying the true rule-breaker. But more importantly, we made it through these little bumps in the roads of our friendships, clearly seen in the many memories formed from that same Language Arts class. One time, we thought it would be a good idea to get up in front of the class and do a little performance to "The Little Mermaid." However, though the two of them are quite talented clarinet players, not a single one of us has a voice that is aesthetically pleasing. Or there was another time when our teacher became very frustrated with the lack of commas being used in essays and therefore drew the biggest comma I have ever seen in my life on the chalkboard. You might not think it's that funny, but the three of us literally laughed out loud hysterically for 10 minutes straight. So we may have been the three girls that received the report card comment from our first year homeroom teacher that said, "lacks self control," and we may have been the girls who got the phone call home to our parents about being too cliquey and leaving the other girls out, but it's where we are at in our lives right now that matters, right?
And where we are now is not even close to where I thought we would be as 6th graders. It's actually a miracle, and all I can say is that God is good. Today I got to spend a beautiful morning with Rebecca Concepcion and Meghan Geiser. We decided to visit our dear friend, Jenna, at "The Bagel Hut" on Temple's campus. As Meg drove us through Philly we joked about finally being able to travel places with just the three of us, seeing that we were/are the last people on earth to get our licenses. (only 10 more days Reb!) When we got there, we were given the extremely generous gift of three free bagels and coffees! So we sat, ate, drank, and talked. We talked about the book of Genesis, about the theology behind it and what different religions believe and about the character of God. It is so refreshing to talk to passionate people who have a thirst to learn and know more. I'm currently going through Genesis because we are doing bible in a year as a Leadership for Young Life, and they both took bible/religion classes this past semester. We all contributed different input, and it was very interesting to hear what each of us had learned at our respective colleges and with our personal experiences. The three of us go to polar opposite schools. Meg at Temple University, a medium sized diverse school in the busy city of Philadelphia; Reb at Azusa Pacific University, a smaller Christian, yet fairly liberal college (resort) in California; and me at James Madison University, a pretty big school with a bunch of conservative Virginians in the small town of Harrisonburg. After lots of discussion, I think the one thing that stuck out to all of us is how redeeming God is throughout Genesis. Even before Jesus came to earth, God was so redemptive in the lives of Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, and countless others and continuously blessed them with what they didn't at all deserve. I generally write off God to be full of wrath throughout the Old Testament, but in reality He is loving and compassionate towards His people. I was so encouraged as I sat next to Rebecca and Meghan and thought about the women we've all grown into. Granted, we still have our child-like vigor and/or immaturity at times. For example, an elderly black man from the heart of North Philly asked Meg where a certain building was, and in her directions she explained the building "that looks like Hogwarts." Or I could refer to how Rebecca and I, at the exact same time, called the Old Testament the "Old Testi." Oops. But, as I reflect on our friendships and on the past 9 years of our lives from 6th grade until now, one thing that is so obviously apparent is that God has redeemed each one of us. God is definitely good.
The adventures of Rebecca, Meghan, and Lindsay:
And Ms. Snyder never would have thought that one day...
We'd be little NHS scholars,
People would actually like us,
Or that we would graduate!
eeeeeeeeek
