Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.  You will increase my honor and comfort me once again. Psalm 71:20,21 (NIV)

Why go to my school reunion? Do I have enough energy to sustain those long-ago friendships? My finger hovered over the button to purchase plane tickets to our weekend in Chicago. Do I have the money? Do I really have time? It had been almost 35 years since I left the mission field and boarding school in Nigeria.

I had immersed myself in the culture of Suburban America, raising teens with a husband who treated me like a queen. However, he didn’t share my boarding school experience. My childhood spent in Nigeria seemed like a lifetime ago because the memories were so distant. The routines of California lifestyle had replaced my rearing as a missionary’s kid in Africa. Should I just skip the event and remain content in the world I’ve built around me now?

But as I clicked the button for “buy ticket now,” I considered how precious these childhood relationships remained.  Even with the passing of several decades, many names on the list of reunion attendees seemed more like brothers and sisters than merely comrades. We had faced adventures and challenges of monumental proportions together. During those formative years my school friends were even closer than family. Setting my misgivings aside, I chose to trust that God could restore the joys of those memories.

Once in Chicago at the reunion, the feeling of being back home enveloped me. I relived familiar stories of my childhood:  scenic hikes along the paths around Miango and Egbe; savory meals with the Hausa and Yoruba people our parents came to serve. Several tales surfaced of boys climbing out their dorm window after lights out and trekking as far as the Volcanoes!  One dear friend told of a kind teacher who encouraged her budding artistic talents.

I chose to trust that God could restore the joys of those memories. Share on X

But many memories culminated around the challenges we MK’s faced: separation from home and family, and harsh, often unfair, discipline. I’d internalized an emphasis on doing good works rather than on listening for God’s voice. As I catalogued these memories, healing washed over me, and I recognized that my life stories fundamentally shaped me into who I am today. Both the highs and the lows were equally vital, because they fashioned the essence of my faith and my character.

During the weekend gathering, I discovered that when God promised to restore the years from my past, he didn’t just replace them with my present. Connecting with the friends I knew in childhood helped me to understand who I am as an adult. God alone controls both the ease and the affliction that touches me. Christ himself suffered greatly, and he knows just how to turn my trials into his tools of change.

God used every part of my history to shape within me specific aspects of his character. Once I reach heaven my life will be perfectly restored to Christ-likeness, but God also desires to restore my life here on earth. Rekindling those friendships in Chicago became part of the process of God restoring the years I thought had been replaced.

Prayer:  Lord, help me to turn to you to restore my spirit, no matter what hardships have caused me to falter.

The Whole Group at Hillcrest/KA Reunion, Chicago 2009

God used every part of my history to shape within me specific aspects of his character. Share on X