remembering Sharon Schuringa

  the last time i saw Sharon Schuringa was at Mulligans in Easttown - a popular Calvin hangout in Eastown Grand Rapids along the old brick road. I was there with a few fellas, and she walked by towards the exit. I hadn't seen her in such a long time, I immediately got up and followed her out. I said hello as she continued walking in the parking lot. But I should probably tell the backstory to give this some context. I met Sharon at Calvin when we were both undergrads. She was a bubbly funny, fun gal from Mississauga Canada , and eventually we dated a little bit. I think we saw the movie Pumpkinhead on our first date together if I recall correctly. And later we went to a Michigan football game together - where my brother was in law school and lived with his wife. They gave us their tickets- nice of them. So we had the apartment to ourselves for a few hours , and then we went to the game. You couldn't ask for a better day. Returning to GR we stopped in at a Dave Smilde party (that's a whole nother story about Smilde- very strange). And then for some reason I don't recall seeing Sharon very much after that. I'm not sure what happened. Did I go somewhere ? THere was no negativity that I recall. WHy didn't we keep seeing each other? I don't know. Like a typical guy I just didn't persist for some reason. Just kind of the college funk I was in I think. And she probably thought it was the guy who should be doing the pursuing. Not her. SO it had been over a year or more since I had seen her- in fact I had already graduated from Calvin and I guess she was still there (she was a few years younger than me). By that time I had worked at a hospital for a year, and had started law school (but decided I had a higher calling, and left) - so this was several years later-  and then there she was at Mulligans . Back to the parking lot I said "How ya doing? " She said "Fine" but didn't seem fine. ANd she kept walking. I said to her " I dropped out of law school" . I will always remember her reply  "You should have stayed in law school" . And she kept walking. Away. I guess it was my fault. What did I expect from her? A hug and greetings after not calling her for so long ? I don't know. But I wish she had stayed and talked. I returned to my friends back inside. Life went on and I ended up teaching for a while and then finally got back to my "higher calling" - going thru two seminaries and starting my own ministry, etc. I've often thought about her and some of the other gals I dated during my Calvin days, But it wasn't until recently that I googled her name to see if I could find out where she is and what she's doing. As best as I can tell she returned to Mississauga and works for a Canadian food company. Her company picture looks nice - a different version of her from Calvin. It doesn't say anything about her personal life, whether she's married or not, but I assume she is. She was too nice of a gal to go long without a good guy. I hope all is well for her and her family. And most of all I hope she is growing in faith, in Christ. God bless you Sharon.