Thrown into Perspective

Two out of my three sisters are married. My third sister is being courted. The girl who lived at our house for two years got engaged on Christmas Eve. One of my best girl friends from my online classes is being courted(she's a month younger than I am). And now, to top it all off, recently one of my local friends, withwhom I have been friends for over ten years, got engaged.

I'm very happy for all of them. Emily and Kate are SO ready to start their own families, and it's very obvious to me. There was nothing else for them to do. Before Aaron and Jesse came along, they were in that in between stage, just waiting. Now they can move on again. It's a huge step, but they're taking it happily, and I'm cheering them on the whole way.

In the same way, Liz is ready to move on, and with Luke in the picture, its only all the more obvious. He makes her so happy, and it's incredible to watch them. She laughs so hard when he is around, and he is clearly more than happy to please her.

And Lydia and Daniel, who got engaged on Christmas Eve, are so ready too. I've been hoping they would end up together for years, and now I'm so happy to see that it will happen. I've never seen Lydia so beautifuly happy before Daniel came along.

My friend being courted is, well, she's one of my very best friends. Noble was the first of my friends who are the same age as me to move from the "single" stage. When I was told that she was being courted, I was extremely happy for her, and probably would have burst into tears if my sister's future in-laws hadn't been right there when I found out. And just as I'm there to cheer Emily and Kate on, I'm cheering Noble on as well, and hoping to be there in case she should need someone to talk to.

When I heard the Jessa got engaged I really *did* start crying. Jessa is one of the most amazing young girls I know, and as I said before, we've been friends forever. I remember going to her birthday party when she turned ten, and we played TV tag(one of the most fun games ever). Last year I was at a party, and Jessa had called and said she was going to be a bit late. When she *did* walk in the door, she surprised us by sporting a new look. Purple hair! Haha! It was one of those things that only stays in until you wash it, and she had decided to do something totally crazy that day. lol Jessa is like that. She's very random, and we all love her. Although I haven't met her fiance, he sounds like a great guy, and I'm happy for him. He's getting an amazing young woman.

But as I watch all this, I feel as though my own life is being thrown into perspective. For years now I've watched Emily's friends get married, and then Kate's friends, and now Liz's. And now it's happening to mine! Watching all this happening to my friends who are the same age as me makes me realize that I'm actually growing up too. I might not feel like it, but I guess I am.

Don't missunderstand me, though. It's not as thought I am desperate to get married any time soon. I'm still about a month short of my eighteenth birthday, and although eighteen might seem pretty grown up, I know that I'm still not going to be ready to get married by the time I reach it. No, I'm pretty sure that I won't even be courted before I'm twenty, but still! Watching a few of my friends start to take the step to the next level makes me realize that I'm getting closer too. Even though I don't think that I'll be ready before I'm twenty, I realized with a jolt this afternon that it's only a bit more than two years until I *am* twenty!

I'm very excited to be courted, especially after watching how happy Emily and Kate were during their courtships and engagements (and now during their first few months of their marriage!), and realizing that I'm getting close to the point where courtsthip will actually be come an option is, well, a pretty cool thought. But, I'm not impatient. I have much to learn, and no matter how much I want it, I'd rather take the time to learn more about managing a family and such, than get the pleasures of courtship and engagement and marriage at an early time and end up not knowing how to do a lot of things that I could easily have learnt if I had waited a little. Yes, I am more than willing to wait.

But standing on the sidelines, watching in wonder as the world goes by me in a blur, I find myself thinking that it really might not be that long. Two years? That really isn't long at all. Two years ago I stood beside my desk wondering how fast my high school years would go by. Two years ago I was at the 2005 Summer Academy, having just finished the first semester of my Sophmore year in high school. Two years ago I had only just met Juliet and Michael and Noble and Ethan. Two years ago I didn't realize how precious my time would be. Two years ago I didn't realize how fast time time would fly.


So, what will happen two years from now? In two years I will probably be a Sophomore at New Saint Andrews coming back from Christmas break. In two years I'll be in Seattle watching the Ring Cycle live(which has been a dream of mine for the past year or so). In two years Emily and Kate will be nearing their second anniversaries. In two years Liz will be married and graduated from New Saint Andrews. In two years I'll be the only Callihan girl still living in my father's house.


Anything can happen in two years' time. I don't know for certain anything that will happen, so I can only pray that God will prepare me for whatever I'm headed for, that I would meet each challenge and change with joy and adaptability, and that no matter what happens, I will trust Him to lead me in His ways.