Where were you when ....

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens.  Where were you when it erupted?

Me??  I was in preschool.  I think playdoh and eating glue were probably more important to me that day.  It is just a thought.

Monumental moments in history -- Elvis died (I was eating my 1st birthday cake, btw), 9/11 (I was being lazy about going to work and ended up relaying messages to our secretary at the church next door)...  The list could go on and on.  Why do we remember these days in history?  Why does it really matter what I was doing at this particular time?

I remember so many important things in my life -- the first time I saw God active in my life, my first crush, my first kiss, when I knew I was supposed to be a youth director, when I found out I was pregnant, the birth of my son.  All of these are so important and each holds a special memory and significance.

Memories are important.  Recalling those memories helps others understand where we have been and why we might have chosen the path in life that we travel.  The memories themselves may seem insignificant to someone else.  The memories may be just blips on the radar of life, but to us they may just be earth shattering, life changing moments.

Often in youth ministry, church type settings, people talk about mountain top experiences.  I have had some wonderful mountain top experiences.  These are times when we feel like we have achieved a great accomplishment.  Many times these mountain top experiences are life changing.  Had I not had one of my first mountaintop experiences at Chrysalis 23 years ago, I might not be a youth director today.  Who knows where my life might have ended up.  Had I not had key moments after that, meeting people who taught me about my faith and how God was active in my life, I might be somewhere very different.

It is funny how life works.  It is interesting how we look back at key points in history and want to always remember what we were doing at that moment in time.  The Berlin Wall, the end of the Cold War, when Pope John Paul II died, Oklahoma City bombing.  And who knows what those moments and key points in history will be 30 years from now when Cade gets older.  Will he laugh when people ask what he was doing when Michael Jackson died.  He can look at them and say, I was eating macaroni and cheese and green beans.  Will his life be forever affected by that event?  Probably not... who knows.

And yes, when Elvis Presley was pronounced dead, I was eating birthday cake at my first birthday party.  :)