Palmtree Contemplations

         The idea of the Pact began during a long walk. It was the end of my senior year, and Kelsey and I were talking about the future. We knew we were different from a lot of other kids our age. We have known that since we were young. We were excited about graduating, going to college in a different country, and being challenged in new ways, but also apprehensive about the culture we would be facing. Our nervousness was on several levels: language, unspoken rules, food (if we would like it or not), clothing, and boys.          "I have a hard enough time understanding boys as it is," I said.          "I know. Add a culture barrier and it's back to the very beginning," Kelsey said.          "Where we know nothing."          "Yeah, exactly."           There was also the question of whether or not we were even spiritually mature enough for a relationship. I knew I did not feel ready for it then, even though I was at home and secure in my

             This is what my father taught me: read the Word every day...and at night when you can not sleep.            Every morning before school we sat down as a family and had family devotions. Light filled the kitchen where we all sat around the counter, our plates and cups empty save for a few crumbs of toast and drops of orange juice. I can still hear Dad's deep voice in my head reading the thrilling accounts of the prophets, the poetry of the psalmists, and the sermons of my Savior.         I inherited my father's knack for waking up in the night. On many such occasions, I awoke to see the glow of a candle reflecting off our tin roof. If I stood up in bed and peeked over the wall, I could see the source of the light. It was always Dad, sitting at the kitchen table, with a huge book stood up to protect his candle from drafts, and his Bible open before him. It always comforted me to know that he was out there, awake and aware just like I was.           This is what my