Lost Childhood Remembered

I watched "Brothers Grimm" yesterday (alone, like the past few times I've gone to the theatre. It's an experience I encourage people to do. Makes you more focused on the storyline and less on the conversation around you). Seeing the film made me remember the so-called "lost childhood" that I've experienced - entering high school at 10, college at 14, and then law school at 18. People go and say I'm such a lucky person to be able to finish studying at such a young age, but a lot of times, I find myself grumbling why I am in this position. After all, where kids were playing house, with Barbie, and Chinese garter, I was trying to figure out the intricacies of the Pythagorean Theorem. There are times when I'd stare out the window longingly at the lovely weather, but then I'd turn my back on it because I have way too much to study. Until 3 years ago, school and grades were my only priority, it was my world. Yes, that sounds nerdy . To be fair, I didn't spend ALL my time on it. I had my friends, I had a fun time, whatever. Yet there was always something lacking.

I tried to retrieve that so-called "lost childhood" in a variety of ways. I acted (and sometimes still do) like my age, which wasn't always a good thing. Admittedly, I used (and still use) that as a front, a cover-up for something. I knew it, yet sometimes, I couldn't help but wonder what if?
What if I did not skip some levels in school and just proceeded with academics like a normal (whatever that is) person? My answer to that is simple: I would not trade this for anything. If I were a freshman in college right now, I wouldn't have met the very people who introduced me to my Savior and who have helped me continually until the present time. I wouldn't have known that the only One to fill the void in my life is the same One who shed His blood to buy mine. I wouldn't have known that even if happiness is temporal, an eternal joy can fill one's life so that no matter what happens, a person may know that s/he is loved by Someone unconditionally.

This is for all the people who made me know all this. You brought me into His presence and continue to bring me closer to Him, and for that, I am eternally thankful that I have lost my old life and found a new one.