Living the Life You Never Dreamed:
A Personal Reflection on Providence
and Righteousness
by Nancy J. Benson-Nicol

Recently, I happened on my senior class high school yearbook. Suffice it to say, some of the styles depicted in those snapshots are old enough be today’s retro fashions. A scant 48 students comprised the graduating class that year at the small Christian school I attended in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. All 48 portraits, set off by paragraph-long personal profiles, stared back at me, glossy and in technicolor—colored ink was one of the handful of privileges set aside for seniors only. As a “B,” my portrait and profile sit in the center of the first page of the seniors’ section.

The snapshot captured my attention—some 13 years earlier and 70 pounds heavier, the picture is surprisingly timeless in composition and color choice. The profile paragraph just above caught my attention, too. I vaguely remember filling out the not-to-exceed-250 words form one hectic winter morning in homeroom. As time passed, I forgot some of the details that filled the profile. Now, sketchy details began to surface.

What memories did Nancy’s profile spark? How does her real life compare to the life she planned for herself at 18? Find out in the May/June 2007 issue of Horizons!

Call 800/524-2612 or subscribe to Horizons or order the May/June 2007 issue (HZN-07-220; $4 plus shipping).

Nancy J. Benson-Nicol serves as university chaplain for the University of the Ozarks, Clarksville, Arkansas.

Illustration of "Tamar" by Diane Blair Goodpasture

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