Lynn's Small Recollections & Reflections #6

My Church Saved Me

My church saved me and not in the way you may think.

I talked about our church a little bit and how many of my parent’s friends were from our church.

When I started confirmation classes with Pastor Mark (Knudsen) I became obsessed with my faith.

Never a good student in school, I was a scholar in my confirmation classes.

On my blog Living Large in A Small House, I may sometimes use affiliate links, which means a small commission is earned if you make a purchase via the link. The price will be the same whether you use the affiliate link or go directly to the vendor’s website using a non-affiliate link. You can find my full Disclosure Policy HERE

Having a Teacher Who Inspires You

Pastor Mark made everything make sense and he shared it in a way that drew all of us pre-teen and teenage kids in.

I had been sinking in a huge ocean and I finally found my lifeboat.

I had found my people and by the time I was a Freshman in High School, I told my school counselor that I was going to go to be a Lutheran Pastor.

What I Really Found at Church

What I really found at church was some true friendships. I played the guitar and I could (kind of) sing. I joined the contemporary service musical group.

Luther League was a group for teens in our church. I think because of Pastor Mark, it became the cool place for everyone to hang out, even if you weren’t Lutheran.

Being a member of this group was my lifeline.

We were at church a lot but we also were hanging out with each other all the time.

Many of the kids were older than me and drove.

My parents pretty much let me do what I wanted to do because I was with the “church kids”.

It was the early 70s and sex, drugs, and rock and roll were a real thing, even for the kids from the church.

Still a Good Girl

While everyone around me was (in my eyes) so grown up, I was still a young girl and I had no idea of the way of the world.

I was good at making my friends think I was more sophisticated than I really was.

My very first boyfriend was someone I met at church. He was catholic but he came to our youth group with a church friend.

He played the drums in a garage band and he loved me.

I loved him!

I often wonder what happened to him.

And Then My Parents Moved

My mom and dad decided they wanted to build a new home and we were moving!

How dare they.

I had finally found friends. I was happy and the last thing I wanted to do was move.

Just when I was about to go off to high school with all of these people I loved.

I started my freshman year only knowing one person, my friend Laura and only because for some strange reason she was bused to my middle school.

We both ended up at the same high school. Me because my parents moved, her because of where she lived.

We weren’t really great friends that fateful freshman orientation day when we sat next to each other because we didn’t know anyone else in a class of 1700 kids.

We became fast friends and she was the maid of honor at my first wedding.

Still Missing Home

For quite some time I was still hanging with my friends from church and actually introducing my new friends from my new high school to my church buddies.

But as with all things in life, they change.

I eventually became more and more involved with the new people I was meeting at my new high school and the confidence I had gained from being accepted by my church friends, gave me the skills to fit in with the kids in this new life.