Tuesday, October 30, 2018


A New Woman
By Karen D’Amore

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away;
behold, all things have become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV, emphasis added)

As my fortieth high school reunion grew near, I spent hours flipping through the pages of my senior yearbook. In an effort to refamiliarize myself, I studied pictures and re-read classmates’ personal inscriptions. Because I’ve rarely reflected on that period of life, it was somewhat a blur. But that reflection process illuminated the contrast between who I was…and who I am today!

Relocating to a new city, I began my first year of high school a stranger to most. Unlike junior high, where I was active in sports, cheerleading, service clubs and student council, I refrained from such activities. My unique style of dress and mysterious loner-like eccentricity impelled students to notice me…yet not really know  me. My involvement in a local church translated into “religious-ocity” versus a personal identification with Jesus. As a deep introspective thinker, the maturity of my life-thoughts distanced me from my peers. My passion for writing spurred involvement with the school newspaper and yearbook. And as editor of our senior yearbook…the book became my voice to unlocking the mystery of “me.”

Other than a handful of Facebook connections, I haven’t stayed connected to the majority of my classmates. After much introspection and prayer, the decision to attend this particular reunion was prompted by God. As I considered the years that bridged time between the girl I was back then and the woman I am today, the contrast is as different as night and day.

The woman I am today is not the result of anything manufactured by me: not hard work, education or personal successes. I am who I am today because of the miraculous work of a loving and merciful God. Because of my personal relationship with Jesus, I’m a new woman, being continually molded into the image of Jesus. My motive for attending this reunion was for the express purpose of displaying the transforming work of our Lord. As classmates would be drawn to remember the girl in the picture on my nametag, my hope was that they would linger just long enough to see the contrast in the woman I am today.

With the reunion now behind me, I’m praising God for the opportunity to show Him off! In the process of reconnecting with old friends/acquaintances and meeting some new, God orchestrated opportunities to share my transforming faith journey. Reliving that journey served as a valuable reminder that I’m nothing without Jesus - - but because of Him - - I’m a “new creation…the old things have passed away…behold, all things have become new.”

GOING DEEPER:
1.  How can you better reflect the “newness” of who you are in Christ?

FURTHER READING:

Married to Dan, Karen, a retired police officer, currently works as a Manicurist at Craig Berns Salon and a Foot Care Specialist at Shorehaven Senior Facility.