I started noticing, on New Year’s Eve, that “#tenyearsago” was trending on Twitter.

(If you’re not on Twitter, first of all, get on the bandwagon already. Secondly, if you’re not on Twitter, the hashtag is used to make searches easier – in a nutshell.)

So I thought for a minute about New Year’s Eve 1999. Where was I? What was I wearing? What music was on? I came up with a simple, 140-character description for Twitter, but couldn’t help but think about it.

New Year’s Eve 1999 I was 16 years old in an apartment I probably should not have been in late at night. New Year’s Eve 1999 was further back than I would like to remember. It was just before punk rock saved my life, and still a couple years before Jesus really saved my life. I was torn between kind of dating a couple of really unsavory guys, and unknowingly enjoying our last few months with Steve before he died of an accidental over-dose.

Ten years doesn’t seem like a terribly long time (and I think I’m old for admitting that), but it’s amazing what’s changed in a decade. Ten years ago I was pretty sure God was a fabrication, and had quit church. Now I know His presence daily, and we talk – sometimes in a language I don’t even understand.

That’s the most amazing part. Looking back on the me of 1999, He loved me, longed for me, and was jealous of the other things that were the attention of my heart. He pursued me for six more years, and when I finally agreed to meet Him, He left those six years behind.

I got some superficial, short answers on Twitter and Facebook, but how about it? Who were you ten years ago, and what has God done?