And So We Laughed

This weekend more than 30 of us from our high school graduating class got together for a 3-day ‘Lyming’ [ A Caribbean island slang for hanging out or chilling with friends. Can also refer to middle-aged people having a good time trying to recapture their youth😂.] And yes, we are officially middle-aged! No one was bothered about sharing their age. Give or take a year we were all the same age. Now that’s freeing! I will be sharing a number posts about this weekend all from a different perspective. We are on the final day here in Central Florida- so I still have more moments to observe. This day – We laughed!

We represent those who have ‘survived’ the years after high school. Most of us now have grown children- we survived parenting those who were just like us in high school. Some of us were a handful and then some. God blessed some of us with children who were just like us and many who were ‘better’ than us. And so we laughed. Many of us have survived family tragedies and misfortunes. In times past we’ve shed a tear or two. But this day -we laughed.

There are those who have overcome illnesses and conditions of varying sorts. Some of us are still walking through health challenges in our own lives or in the lives of those we love. But for this moment – we laughed. For this slice of time we were able to forget, if just for a moment, the stresses of our own personal journey. Times have changed and so have we. We’ve acknowledged the imperfect girl or boy who was just trying to navigate high school. We didn’t always do or say the ‘right’ thing. We may have left a bitter taste in some people’s mouth. Our hope is that we are forgiven. Our hope is that we are now better than we were then. And so we laughed.

We recognize that none of us have perfect lives. However, we were blessed to be connected with each other on the campus of ‘The Blue and Gold’ nestled in cool hills of that amazing island of ours. We have no idea where the roads may lead us as individuals. We hope that we can make the burden a little lighter for someone along the way. We push ahead even in moments when our strength may fail. We pray that none of us will choose to travel the hard roads alone. I dare to believe that we all have someone here in this graduating class that will go to bat for us and with us. We don’t do this alone. God never made a mistake when He chose to connect us. And so we laughed.

‘Prestare et Praestare’ – Persevere and Excel. The motto that served as a guide for us over those precious years. Little did we know that life would beckon us to rise above all the ‘ins and outs’, the ‘ups and downs’, and all the meanderings of this journey. Collectively, we symbolize those who overcame and are still here. For that I am grateful. We are grateful. And so we laughed!

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits. [Psalm 103:2]

***Thanks for stopping by – ‘The journey continues and so we laugh!