This week I'm celebrating eighteen years of family, hard work, tears, new mornings, surrenders, laughter, music, and a million other things.
And all the lessons: here are just eighteen I've learned so far!
1. Our hope must be in Christ.
The things we helplessly grip between our fingers in a hopeless attempt to hold
on to what we believe will bring us happiness always fails us. And even if it
doesn’t, do you really believe that the love that we find in the pursuit of
anything or anyone else could compare to the love we find in Jesus? When Christ
is our hope, we are free to pursue abundant life as he designed it, and our
hearts are protected by the safety of his faithfulness.
2. Life is constantly up and down. I have to remind myself of this often.
Sometimes you literally just have to go through a few minutes of pain before
things will begin to look up again. Don’t get stuck in the small picture of
what is in front of you. Instead, grow through the moment by going through the
grief and then living in joy and peace. It will be okay, and it will probably
be okay very soon.
3. God is our refuge. I can’t
even begin to go into all of the implications of such a statement. But knowing
that in everything we can hide in his open and loving arms can change any
situation.
4. Potential is our greatest gift. Can you imagine what would happen
if we pushed to our full potential spiritually, physically, mentally, socially,
and emotionally? We could change the world if we used what God has given us. We
have the potential to be anything we could ever dream.
5. We have all the knowledge we could ever want at our fingertips. Can
we just take a minute and think about this??? We can learn anything we want. I
could be a veritable genius at anything (if I put the time/energy into it, of
course) just by using info that is readily available to me.
6. When life falls apart, view it as an opportunity to rebuild life the way you want
it. Sometimes your dreams are gonna CRASH, and we need to look at it as a
time to ask ourselves what we really want. Then, habit by habit, we are
able to rebuild the life that truly reflects our purpose.
7. You are you, and you have to know what that means. You don’t have
to accept anything anyone says about you: you know who you are, and that’s
enough. You are chosen and beloved by the God of the universe.
8. Your greatest weaknesses are your greatest strengths. Trust me; the
same traits that make you unorganized and spontaneous are the same traits that
allow you to be creative and flexible. Trust me; the same traits that cause
people to tell you that you have no sense of humor or fun are the same traits
that allow you to think clearly and logically and practically. And on and on
and on. You were created with the most amazing gifts, so stop comparing
yourself to what others are or what you think you should be.
9. Run to Jesus first. The Lord has been taking me through this
process of challenging me to find my comfort and everything else in him, first.
I’m learning that while he has given me the Body of Christ to support me, he
wants me to run to him. He is truly the greatest Father, Comforter, and Love.
10. Don’t force feelings. When you are grieving, grieve. And when you don’t want to grieve, don’t try to force it, or feel guilty that you aren't.
Go through each feeling fully so that you can heal fully.
11. Laugh with Jesus. God created humor, and I believe sometimes it’s
important to share those special moments of laughing over how you were humbled,
laughing because of epic fails, etc, etc. God is not some stern entity that can’t
identify with us: we are created in his image! He created the beauty of
laughing and humor!
12. Travel. The way you allow your brain to be stimulated by new
places, cultures, customs, etc. will be the measure that you are able to create
and define new ideas in your own life. Traveling is an education in itself that comes with rewards that are
deeply personal.
13. Open your heart to pain. When you listen to someone's pain, it
allows them to process through their hurt and continue in their grieving and
healing process. They are transferring pain to you,
and you will carry it. But it’s worth it. Just give the pain to the Lord and
know that you were part of something bigger than yourself.
14. Let your expectations be few. Expect great things in life. Dream.
Never settle. But don’t set yourself up for selfish disappointment by feeling
entitled or set on having things a certain way. A little contentment goes a
long way.
15. Live reflectively. Know your motivation for feeling the way you do,
and don’t be afraid of what you’ll find within yourself. A lot of times I find
that I lie to myself about my motivation because I don’t want to admit what I’m
truly afraid of, or that I’m not brave enough to face what’s truly in my heart.
It may take some deep times of reflection and asking yourself questions, and
writing, writing, writing!!! But it will be worth it!
16. Don’t be afraid of surrender. What we hold “out of reach” of the
Lord will never be truly ours. Only what we surrender will we truly hold,
because it will be of his good will for our lives. So often I find myself
afraid to give God something because I’m afraid of what he’ll do with it. But
the truth is this: he is a good Father who has amazing plans for us!
17. It’s okay to be alone. You can be alone and not lonely; you can be surrounded by people and still feel lonely. But when you feel this way, count it as an invitation from Jesus to be closer to him than ever
before. And when he has you on a path that no one else is taking, you can
rejoice that he is preparing you for something unique!
18. Live in adventure. Granted, not every day is going to be filled
with road trips and roller coasters and fireworks. But if you have the mindset
of adventure, you are ready to embrace every part of life as a new story that will take you places you’ve never been before!
Eighteen, it's been real.
Friends & Family, you are seriously incredible.
Jesus...you have been the Love that never lets go of me. I can't wait to go on more adventures with you!
May my life reflect your glory as I choose to follow you.
♡♡♡
