1981 Summer Memories

The summer of 1981 was an important summer for me. I was 20 years old. I wasn't dating anyone. (But I did know the guy I'd marry, although if you would have told me that summer I'd marry him in three years, I would have told you you were nuts. I knew him, but at that point we were barely more than acquaintances.) 

I spent the whole summer of 1981 in Colorado. (Hmmm.... there seems to be a theme here and where I went in the summer time...)

I  spent the first month of the Summer of 1981 at Bear Trap Ranch. It's a camp that InterVarsity Christian Fellowship owns and runs about 8 miles up in the mountains from Colorado Springs. And by up in the mountains, I mean 9,100 feet up. (This is the same place we went as a family to Family Camp.)

I learned a lot in those four weeks at Bear Trap. One thing that really sticks out in my mind is a visual about how God and our relationship with Him needs to be at the center of our lives where all the other area of our lives are affected by it. We should not just have Him be a part all by itself. That was a new way of thinking for me at the time.

There were lots of other things learned and friendships made, overnight hiking trips that led to some of the nastiest blisters I've ever had on my feet, square dancing, Bible reading (1st and 2nd Samuel), hot tea drinking (to warm up my cold hands on those chilly Colorado mornings), letter reading and writing to friends from college, and then there was the really unfortunate choice I made of having my bangs cut. Yuck. I think they look hideous when I look at pictures of me from back then. Sigh. I was young, what can I say?

Here's proof that I did go repelling. It's not quite as high as my loved ones did twenty years later, but I still did it! (Ick.. you can see those nasty bangs poking out from under the helmet...)

The next two months were spent in Breckenridge, Colorado. Sigh. Beauty, pure beauty.

The time in Breckenridge was also with InterVarsity. There was a group of us (15-20 college students along with several staff people and their families) there on an Evangelism Project. We took jobs in the community and worked on living out our faith. I worked in this building at an ice cream parlor. When I washed dishes I looked out the back window at the ski mountain. So pretty! I also did some sewing and babysitting.

Sometimes I wish I could go back and learn some of the important spiritual things all over again. At least be able to look at them through more mature eyes. I'm sure I missed so much because I was only 20 years old.

Here's some of us at a cook-out. I'm the classy one in the white jacket and the ugly, unfortunate bangs. :)

I, sadly, have few pictures of my own from this summer. I remember somehow messing up the roll of film I took and ended up exposing much of the film. Some of my friends sent me copies of their pictures.

I did end up dating one of the guys in our group in Breckenridge. I learned a lot about relationships through him. About being open and honest in everything. I remember one conversation we had about how God sees us without blemish, holy and blameless. Still a hard concept for me to grasp since I see the ugliness in my heart.

Although at the time I thought that guy was "the one", looking back I see God's hand in guiding me to The One He had made for me. Because of my long distance relationship (after the summer was over) I was able to become friends with some guys back at college. My mom said told me then they were likely willing to be friends with me because I was "safe". They didn't have to worry about me wanting to date them and could just be my friend because I was dating someone else (who lived in another state). By the next summer my long-distance relationship had ended and one of those guys from college? He was my best friend. And today? He is still my Best Friend. He's my hubby! He's the guys I married three years later. See how God works?

That Hubby of mine is such a wonderful earthly example of God's love for me. He sees me without blemish even though he knows some pretty yucky things about me.

Case in point:

A few nights ago when Hubby got home from work, I was frustrated and angry about some things and basically yelled at him for a while. What did he do? He hugged me, talked to me a little and loved me and took me out to dinner. I sure don't deserve the kind of love he has for me. Reminds me of God's love. Majorly, totally unconditional. Full of mercy. Hubby sure didn't respond in a way I deserved, but responded in grace and mercy. How lucky am I to have this earthly example of God's love right here in front of my face?

Anyway... I may have seemed to get a little off track here from my summer of 1981, but like I said at the beginning, it was an important summer for me.

(And by the way, this coming Thursday, Mr. The One, my hubby and I will celebrate 27 years of marriage!!!)