Today me and some college friends met up at our alma mater....Southeastern University. Of course when we were there back in the 80's (GASP) It was Southeastern College....SEC.....
When we were there, it was basically a Bible college. It was accredited with the state and had a few other majors, mainly education. I LOVED my years there. I started in August '84....ALMOST 30 years ago! That does NOT seem possible at all!!!!!!!!!
Today we laughed and reminisced about our years there..... it was a very happy time in my life. Lots of friends and fun and some serious learning too. I loved just about everything even our daily chapel services. All these years later I have many life long friends all over the globe from our days at SEC. FB really helps us all to stay in touch.
We started out in the "new " library..... I helped move the books over from the "old" library back in the winter of 85 I think LOL! I worked in the library for years. LOVED my boss Bro Cramar so much. He "gave me away" when Jon & I renewed our vows at Jon's family's home after we eloped.
We were looking at old yearbooks dating back to the 40's and 50's.... it was a hoot! We tried to figure out if any of the students were still alive. My friend Charlene reminded us that in 100 years ALL of the folks in our yearbooks would be dead....thanks for that uplifting word Char!!! We also went through our years there so if your ears were burning.....it might have just been cuz we were discussing you ....(nothing mean ~ really!)
Same chairs as 30 years ago !!!!
Jackie, Laurie, Charlene and me!
LOOK I am wearing a TANK and a short skort on campus!!!!!! I would have lost some MAJOR honor points "back in the day" We barely were allowed to wear pants and shorts were a big NO NO ! I lost several honor points for wearing shorts!
Bethany Hall where the freshmen girls lived
I'm pointing to my first room at SEC
Charlene in her freshman dorm room
My bathroom....LOL it did NOT look like that back 30 years ago!
Krystal, Laurie me and Charlene on the stairs in Bethany
Bethany Beach!
Looking towards the Music Hall. We used to have some good times in there singing some good old gospel hymns.
Charlene pointing to where her hubby used to live in Bauer Hall
Charlene showing how she would whistle for him:) BTW they have been married for almost 25 years and have 5 kids!!!!! It's cute to remember how it was when they were dating! she still whistles for her Dan!
The Chapel
FRIENDS!
The old café....
Spence Hall I also lived there
Nice memories....SEC was such a fun time in my life. It's a beautiful campus now, very modern, very cool.....not sure I like it as much as I did back "in the day" We were so "uncool" but it was good:) We were all VERY serious students and we were going to change the world.....well not so sure we changed the world. I'd like to hope that we at least changed our small part of the world.
Looking back I'd say we were idealistic but God still used us all in different ways.
We were talking today how it can make you feel sad to go back and revisit a place that was so paramount in your earlier life. It seems like I've been doing a lot of that lately. One can't help but think of the various decisions made in the past and how they affect the here and now.
Mostly I can say I have very few regrets in my life. There are a few major ones when I let down someone close to me that I wish I could change. And for me, always August 15, 2012 is a day I wish I could live over and change completely....
Most of my life decisions I made, I am happy with....but I can say I could have never predicted where my life would be at 30 years later.... this is probably NOT where I would have thought we'd be!
Actually when I started SEC, I thought I'd be a missionary. In fact, I didn't' even want to date guys unless they were planning on being missionaries! I felt like I'd go to Germany.....well I did have a couple of lay overs there on my way to and from adopting the girls!! Then in my sophomore year, I got involved with a street ministry that worked on Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando, working at a soup kitchen with the homeless and with the prostitutes. I was honored that year to be chosen as a Mission Intern and I did my internship in Brooklyn New York, in the INNER city! So then my focus was on home missions, specifically NYC. In fact, that is what caught Jon's attention :)
That summer was an eye opener for me! Lots of decisions I made that summer really affected my long term future, but at the time, I did not even recognize it. Looking back, I see how my life could have been a lot different. There have been moments that I've wondered about some things but....I can say all in all everything worked out good.
After Jon and I married we lived and worked in NYC for several years. We worked at Brooklyn Teen Challenge (a Christian Drug/Alcohol rehab) and we helped plant an inner city church.
So life is a journey....you never know where that journey might take you or who you might encounter on that journey.
I really appreciate my long time friends. My husband kids me that if I'm not friends with someone for over 20 years, I think of them as just an acquaintance...that is not true but I do treasure my childhood and college friends. There is something to be said about having long term relationships with others. If a person doesn't have someone in their life that has known them for a long time, it makes me wonder about them. I'm blessed by the folks in my life, even if I don't get to see them very often! There is just something special about shared memories!
Selah continues to do great, she is as stable as she can be right now and that makes us happy! Thank God she still has not needed Valium and she is not needing the Clondine either . She does wear a patch of Clondine so it's not like she is getting some but she is NOT needing the liquid twice daily dose now. Which means to us, that her brain is functioning better at keeping her blood pressure in the normal range. Please keep praying for her!
I see you are not the only rebel wearing shorts! No wonder all of you were friends.
ReplyDeletewhat a beautiful campus! Definitely prettier than what they have around here! How special that you all were able to get together and reminisce. It's so nice that you've managed to stay in touch with so many friends throughout the years. Thanks to Facebook, I've kept in touch with friends that I had previously lost touch with. I'm not one of those that stayed in touch so well before Facebook.
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