I Didn't Know

I have officially written as many drafts here as I have actual blog posts.  The fact that this blog has has over 10,000 views also seems remarkable.  Yet what really caught me off guard when looking back through this blog's history, was that I started scribbling thoughts here 5 years ago.

I don't feel like I am old enough to have been doing something for 5 years.  I'm sure some hobbies can claim that longevity, but in my mind, I started blogging when I thought I had something worthwhile to say which is  when I thought I had achieved some standard level of maturity and adulthood.

5 years ago, I was a freshman in high school.  I knew nothing.  But I also knew that I knew nothing, which helped a lot.  I knew that I was the product of society and my school system and The Town and my family.  I didn't do much about it, yet I knew it.

But there were a lot of things I had no idea about.

I didn't know that I wasn't going to be an engineer.  I didn't know that I was much weaker in some ways than I thought.  I didn't know how many people that I would see die.  I didn't know how much brokenness there was in this world and how little I could do about it.

But I also didn't know how much of a help I could be if I looked beyond myself.  I didn't know about the sleepless nights and tired days.  I didn't know how writing would simultaneously save me and destroy me.  I didn't know that God was truly my only Savior.  I didn't know that I would go to a Christian college, or even that I would still be a Christian at this point. I didn't know about the incredible friends and memories I would find here.  I couldn't have anticipated the amount of mental strain I would have to learn to overcome. I didn't know that I would see lives fall apart and God piece me together.

While I've never put much stock in who I am, I have an inexhaustible source of confidence of what can I can do.  Even so, alone, I am nothing.  With God, I am still nothing but I am with God.  Being able to say that is more astounding than 5, 10, or 15 years of life-changing experiences.