If there’s one place that’s set up to either reject or redeem you, it’s a high school reunion.

By and large, I had a marvelous high school experience. But one blemish that tarnished those years came from picked over middle school baggage that looked something like this:

In 7th grade, Kristen becomes good friends with Girl. Girl and Kristen burn through paper passing notes in class and burn through free time hanging out after class. Some time later, Girl climbs the social ladder faster than Kristen. Girl forgets she knows Kristen altogether.

The scenario above was nothing beyond normal teen girl drama, certainly not worthy of the six o’clock news {thankfully}. And while it broke my heart at the time, more friends – good friends – crossed my path and healed my heart.

So years later on a sticky July evening, two of those good friends named Katie and Rhonda make the twenty minute drive southeast of town to my parents house, kindly offering to give me a ride to our ten year high school reunion. And while my red and carmel colored dress brings me confidence on the outside, my insides feel anything but. Because no matter how much confidence I’ve gained in ten years, my inner eighteen year old still wants to know:

Will they like me?

Will I be rejected or redeemed?

We arrive at the reunion, a restaurant off Grand Ave. When I pull open the door to my past, I am immediately put to ease by old friends. So when I stand after dinner – still laughing like a crazy person over Chris and Tim’s antics – and walk over to the dessert tray,  I’m shocked to see Girl. Our eyes meet and I’m wondering it still again:

Will I be rejected or redeemed?

She makes her way to me first and I remember how in high school, she won something along the lines of Most Beautiful Girl of the senior class. She’s still gorgeous.

We hug and talk about husbands and hometowns, births and babies. And as I pick up a plate of lemon cake, she says it right out of the blue:

“Kristen, I regret a lot of things about back then. I just want you to know I’m thankful for you.”

I may have dropped my cake.

I know I dropped my jaw.

And all I could do was hug her.

No, she didn’t say I’m sorry. She didn’t ask me to forgive her. But the point of an apology is to model Christ: to redeem, to make new. With the offering of her words, she did this.

“I’ve never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love, and more love! And so now I’ll start over with you and build you up again…”

~ Jeremiah 31:3 {the MSG}

No one’s perfect and I fall as short as the rest but this I know:

A genuine apology rebuilds charred, burnt bridges.

A genuine apology swings open the locked cage doors.

A genuine apology laces broken hearts back together.

A genuine apology is a gateway to shocking, glorious redemption and a fresh start.

God’s grace redeems and yes, even at high school reunions, God uses an apology to reach down from heaven and relay redemption. He grabs almost forgotten wounds from middle school and brings those back around for good, glorious good.

And I am thankful.

If you are sharing your own surprise mistake-turned-blessing story today, here are some things to remember:

1. New to link-up’s or have questions? Read this first.

2. Since we all dig surprises, please surprise another writer by leaving a comment on her post *or* by giving her a facebook shout-out or tweet. Use the hashtag: #outoftheblue. 

3. Be sure to include the out of the blue banner {see below} in your post or link back to Chasing Blue Skies so your readers can join in the fun. That way, we can all easily find each other.

Important: Because I’m taking spring break off to hang with the fam, there will be no out of the blue next week. So, our prompt for Thursday, April 4th will be confidence. Has the Lord surprised you with how much confidence He has in you? Has He given you an unexpected boost of confidence enabling you to climb a mountain you wouldn’t have dreamt possible? Did you ever surprise yourself with how confidently you handled a situation? Share your story!  I look forward to reading how God used confidence to build your faith, increase your joy, or make a difference in your life or those in your circle of influence!

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If you are playing along, here are a few things to remember:

1. New to link-up’s or have questions? Read this first.

2. Since we all dig surprises, please surprise another writer by leaving a comment on her post *or* by giving a facebook shout-out or tweet. 

3. Be sure to include the out of the blue banner {see below} in your post or link back to Chasing Blue Skies so your readers can join in the fun. That way, we can all easily find each other.

God is full of surprises, and He uses these different blessings to prove His dependable faithfulness. Out of the blue helps us look expectantly for them as we live our lives exploring them.

When an Unlikely Friendship Is Exactly What You Need

In my mind’s eye, I see Cheryl breezing into Rebecca’s back yard, the location for our “get to know the new neighbors” tea. In a whopping five minutes flat, I discover this wonder of a woman would be equally at home participating in a Capital Hill mixer as a head-banging rock concert as an intimate tea.

And twelve years later, I haven’t changed my mind.

Cheryl has the ease of a modern day Grace Kelly, and her heart is bigger than her home state of Texas. A tune always swirls around her, and she snaps fingers and hums along whether washing dishes or waltzing through Target. She owns a smile that could light stadiums and has a fire about her that is magnanimous as all get out.

Cheryl exudes the confidence of a female version of Tom Brady and Kanye West put together – without the obnoxious arrogance.

When I think of my history with Cheryl, here’s the part that makes me squirm: I almost wrote off real friendship with her because I considered us too different. It wasn’t that I only sought out friends who were exactly like me. Far from it. But I didn’t go looking for friends that made me uncomfortable, either.

And Cheryl made me uncomfortable…at first.

In the dawn of our friendship, I wore insecurity like an invisibility cloak. And whether it was the fog of mothering little ones or the sleep depravation that comes with it, I felt as fiery as ketchup. So rather than appreciate Cheryl for all she was, I only saw in her what I was not.

I looked at Cheryl – the one whose name means ‘darling gem’ – and felt the rough edges of my own lackluster self.

But just as the Lord takes us to uncomfortable places to stretch our faith, He plants us in community with different people who stretch our faith, too. Iron sharpens iron, and our dullness disappears fastest when our weaknesses find renewed strength in other’s examples. When we humble ourselves to learn from one another’s gifts, we form a strong, diverse tapestry of community that benefits all its members.

While I haven’t lived near Cheryl for ten years, she remains a close friend. We rub shoulders once a year or so, but we rub hearts much more often. And each time I do, the cloak of invisibility covers less as my confidence in Christ covers more.

Her friendship began out of the blue, but it remains a true-blue gift.

Next week: What is an unexpected adventure the Lord dropped in your lap or asked you to take? Your adventure might look like a trip, but it might look like something completely different {i.e. marriage, parenthood, a new job opportunity}. I can’t wait to hear your stories!

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