what i remember...

i'm at my parents house in the woodlands this week and we have spent a lot of time cleaning out old closets, desks, dressers, etc as my parents prepare to sell the house i grew up in. i am not much of a pack rat. i'm kind of a throw it away so i don't have to find a perfect place to store it person. but apparently my mom is...the most organized pack rat ever. so i've been going through boxes and boxes of "artifacts" she kept from my childhood. making piles for trash and good will and a few, very few items that i want to hang on to. and it's surprising what those things are. those pictures, pieces of paper, cards and what not that so connect me to the raw emotion of my childhood. many that i didn't think twice about at the time, but now, with years in-between, they are beyond significant. they are pieces of the puzzel that fit together and tell a story.

a letter my mom wrote me at camp when i was 7 telling me that my good friend's brother had died of cancer.

a letter i had written my mom telling her i hated camp and didn't ever want to go again - wanting to prevent another loss.

old halloween costumes - I was the cutest bunny you've ever seen.

misc. dance and cheerleading uniforms that remind me of sweet times with sweet friends - and wanting to be popular.

journals from high school filled with anger. then Jesus. then love - wanting eternal acceptance.

report cards. i did get a C in geometry. and probably an F in spelling. is that how you spell geometry? - wanting to be smart.
slinky bracelets and ballet shoes.
a tarnished silver bracelet and a best friend charm - wanting desperately to be someones best friend.

a notebook from college with writings from my favorite class with Prof. Bump - wanting to be heard and understood.

lots of notes from old boyfriends that make me SO grateful for Greg. and thankful that i learned the lessons i did BEFORE i met him! and so sad for the loss of Tim Isom. February 1976 - September 2001.
prom dresses and school photos - wanting to be pretty and desired.
golf trophies - wanting my dad to be proud.
birthday cards i made for mom and dad...that reveal a tender soul in a little girl.

Lord, more than anything, I want You to be glorified. Be glorified in my life.