A bubble of time that seems separate from the rest of our lives.
Often defined in people's lives as either the highlight of their short lives, or some of the worst years they were fortunate to survive.
Stick the word 'Christian' in front and most people assume its full of self-righteous people who refuse to interact with those outside of their religion.
My high school experience was, as I put it, peculiar.
I attended Covenant Christian High School right outside of Indianapolis, IN during my time as a high schooler.
At the time I had two choices for school: either I could attend a very large public school (think shopping mall size!) or my mom graciously offered to send me to Covenant where the student body was only 400.
I chose Covenant because it felt like every door kept opening that way. Now I couldn't imagine having even picked anywhere else.
High school memories often revolve around dances or what groups one was a part of and such. Don't get me wrong I have those kinds of memories too. Memories of being asked out to prom, staying late after school for the fall/spring plays trying to get everything just right, and traveling for the speech/debate team.
But my memories go beyond that. They are not made up of just events and things I did but also who I did them with.
Of teachers that would stay late to help me understand math, who introduced me to the Beatles (who I am still deeply in love with) and who helped me believe in myself while grounding me in my faith.
Of friends who were a shoulder to cry on when I was mad at my parents, were there to act in my (awful) senior student film and gave me a safe place to be myself.
My high school became a place not only to learn facts and figures, but also to learn about life and to see faith lived out.
My high school became my home.
And for a kid from a broken family it meant the world to me to have a place like that.
I have often heard that I made the wrong decision because it kept me in a 'Christian bubble,' that because I chose to be in Christian schooling for a majority of my life I have no idea what the 'real' world is like.
To them I say that honestly without Covenant I don't know if I would still be a Christian. Being a high schooler is hard, being a high schooler with divorced parents harder, but a Christian high schooler with divorced parents?
The hardest.
My community, my family, at Covenant surrounded me through every up and down of those four years of my life.
We laughed. We cried. And we celebrated.
At Covenant I found myself, and I found myself accepted.
I do not think I have ever or will ever be pushed as hard as I was to grow in and understand my faith, but I am so grateful to have been pushed.
And when people tell me that I have been stunted as a person because I chose not to go to public school, I feel sorry for them; they will never understand what a gift it was to go through one of the hardest times in life surround by people who were fellow believers.
Going to a Christian school in no way sheltered me from knowing what was happening in the world around me. In fact, I felt like being in a private school actually let us discuss what was going on without having to worry about stepping on anyone's toes, which in turn let us make our own opinions instead of being force fed.
By being in a 'Christian bubble' I was able to grow to my fullest potential and to safely explore my faith before being sent out to go and share what I had received.
After all, aren't bubbles meant to only last for a little while before they pop?
