Leaping Where You Can't Look

Sorry this didn’t make it online in a more timely manner! I was away from Umphumulo, my computer, and internet for the last three weeks, and didn’t get a chance to post it.  Better late than never, I guess…

                         

February 29^th, 2000. 

I was a 10 year old 5^th grader at Zion Lutheran School in Belleville, IL.   I had survived Y2K, was playing center on my school’s basketball team, and had somehow been elected to the student council.  That last one was a big mistake; apparently as a class representative on student council you had to help plan the school dances.  Even worse, then you had to go!  Yechh.  Can you imagine all the cooties? 

At 10, I was certainly aware of the significance of 2/29.  I’m pretty sure I knew all about how the earth’s solar orbit was actually 364.25 days, and the scientists or whoever made the calendars just decided to add a full day every four years instead of bothering the whole world with fractions.  Not that it would have bothered me, because I knew all about fractions.  If you were around, I’m sure I would have told you all about them.  Regardless, I didn’t think too much about the leap year, other than endlessly debating how old someone born on February 29^th would actually be compared my friends and me.

 

February 29^th, 2004

On the second leap year I can remember, I was finishing up my first year of high school in Colorado Springs, CO.  I had gotten cut from the basketball team a few months before, and continued to avoid dances.  My life was more or less absorbed by school, sports, and the assorted extracurriculars.  Baseball season was about to start, and I was still wrapping my mind around the fact that kids only a couple years older than me could drive cars. 

2004, other than being a leap year, held special significance.  My family and I were discussing our next steps.  My dad had the opportunity to take a position as an orthopedist at an Air Force base in Germany, and I was excited about the chance to move overseas.  Visions of high school graduation, driving a car on the autobahn, and speaking fluent German were tantalizing.  By the time the school year ended, most of my friends thought I would be in Germany next year.  I did too, but it wasn’t to be. 

February 29^th, 2008

At 18, I was half way through my second semester of college.  I was barely aware of the leap year, as things like Statics, building models in SolidWorks, and second semester physics seemed like more than I could handle.  Throw in the fact that I was playing ultimate frisbee and had joined a fraternity, and I was convinced my life couldn’t get any busier.  At the time, I never imagined that each of the next 6 semesters would be more challenging and time consuming than the last.

At the beginning of high school, college seemed like it would never arrive.  At the beginning of college, graduation seemed equally distant.  I was happy studying mechanical engineering, if a little hesitant at the idea of getting an internship and working like an adult for the first time in my life.  Still, I had no real idea of what it meant to live like an adult, and was happy to put off finding out for a while longer. 

February 29^th, 2012

I can’t help but look ahead.  At 22, I still feel too young to be making plans, too young to be grown up, too young to be done with school.  I’m living by myself, but I’m not alone.  I never expected to be in Umphumulo, KwaZulu-Natal.  Not four years ago, not eight years ago, not even when I was dreaming in 5^th grade.  I never even expected to be working for the church in any kind of semi-official capacity. 

Looking back, the list of what I didn’t expect to be a part of my life the previous leap year could go for pages.  Similarly, the list of things that I thought I might do but never came about would be equally long.  My time in South Africa (and my reflections this February 29^th) has provided an excellent window for me to look, think and reflect on all the changes and plans that God has worked in my life from the time I was in grade school until now.  I’m reminded daily of how applicable my confirmation verse, Proverbs 3:5-6, has been as I’ve wandered through the last few years.  Although incredibly challenging, trusting in the Lord and allowing him to make my paths straight has made it possible to get by without knowing the answers to life’s important questions.  More importantly, it has helped me realized that I’ll never know what’s in store for me.