Last evening I had dinner with Margaret and two young girls she knows. One was in high school - a junior- and the other just started college. After a relatively brief but good conversation with these girls I realized a couple of things. One is that the pressures of life at that age are immense and I don't miss that a bit. I have thought more than once in the last couple of years that young people seem to face a lot more pressure regarding sex, drugs and alcohol than I remember facing at that age. I don't know if that is an actuality or just a perspective skewed by the years but it seems real. I imagine that these pressures have been the same for my generation and my mother's generation and her mother's before her. But it does appear that these pressures are starting at a much earlier age and are very overt. In light of all this, I realized a second thing - that other than the physical benefits of being college age - no wrinkles, more energy, etc. - I would not want to go back to that stage of my life. Well unless I could go with the experience and wisdom I have gained over the years. It is easy to long for the "good ole days" of my youth but really in spite of the challenges of the age I am at right now - which you don't really need to know- these are the better days. The pressures and issues are mostly different and some are pretty difficult but the rewards are better. Maybe my whole view is slanted b/c my relationship with the Lord is so vastly different now from what it was then. My outlook is more positive, I am more open and adventuresome and I am able to look at the reality of who I am better. Not to mention that I have a deeper understanding of how much God loves me and I think I am finally catching a glimpse of who He designed me to be. All in all, this is a much better place to be than what I was in my 20's. I hope I feel the same when I wake up tomorrow with a neck ache or worries about growing really old:) Regardless, all this does prompt me to pray more diligently for those young people in my life like my niece and nephews who haven't even reached junior high yet and are already facing many challenges and difficulties. God help them - literally!