Life: A Celebration of Ages in a Nutshell

What is your first memory? Which days in your life will you never forget? Life happens so quickly, yet each day has 24 unique hours. That is 1,440 minutes of life in one single day! When I was a child, I learned a saying, “today is the first day of the rest of your life”. Simple, yet profound. Now, each Sunday morning our Pastor greets the people with, “This is the day that the LORD has made;” and we reply, “let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24 ESV). There are plenty of moments to be sad, scared, frustrated, sick, confused, hurried, stressed; as well as times to be happy, courageous, creative, exercising, helpful, entertaining and resting. The Bible verse offers a simple truth that allows me to make the best of every situation: focus on something to rejoice and be glad about in the day that is given to me :-)

• 9 months–0: I don’t have memories of what was going on before my birth, but there is plenty of research to back up the fact that I was a precious living human being from the time of conception and during the months Mom carried me. Preborn babies respond differently to various types of music for example. I am very thankful that my Mom was NOT pro-choice/pro-abortion, but she was pro-life! A good website for information on that is Lutherans For Life.
• 0–4: Baptism was the highlight. I received the gift of faith, forgiveness of sins and peace with God by the working of the Holy Spirit. At this point God looks at me through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit led my parents to bring me to worship—surround me with Christians—and provide me with daily devotions to develop wisdom and a strong spiritual foundation throughout my childhood. The physical, spiritual and intellectual growth during this period of time is amazing! One specific memory I have (when I was short enough to walk underneath the dinner table) is when I hit my head on a corner of the framework at the gap where additional leaves were added to accommodate a large family.
• 5–9: Kindergarten was the most wonderful year! I decided I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher when I grew up. I changed my mind, but I found a great friend who has that occupation! Working on the farm, with tasks like picking rocks, chopping thistles and pulling weeds were introduced during this period. Creative growth flourished in these early years.
• 10–14: Lutheran Island Camp in Henning, Minnesota is a great memory. 4-H also provided benefits of a wide variety of social and educational experiences.
• 15–19: Working in the fields, detasseling corn and a factory job, building computer parts for airplanes. Appleton High School, dance line, theatre; Alexandria Technical College…so much education and some fun, too.
• 20–24: A move to Brookings, South Dakota, starting a professional career as a graphic designer in a printing company. Marriage!
• 25–29: A move to Kansas! Two babies!
• 30–34: Two children!
• 35–39: Two adolescents!
• 40–44: Two teens!
• 45–49: 
  Two young adults! Loss of parents. I was the mother of the groom and gained a new daughter-in-law!

Life has seen many changes in 49 years. Had I kept a diary, I’d be able to tell exactly when computers came into daily living. Technology has connected me to email, Facebook, Twitter, Blogspot, Pinterest, Google+ and my own online shop on Etsy (not to mention to the many ways it changed my graphic design career). But the most meaningful changes involve family and friends. Life holds enormous blessings within the circle of loved ones…which reminds me of Skype!