The awesome part about having a birthday in the middle of the year is it's almost like New Year's Day all over again. Just for you. New year, new start, new clean slate. I'm beginning a new season of life. I'm now an adult. I haven't wrapped my head around that yet. It's a thrilling but daunting mental trip. The kind of thought that makes being five sound like a good idea. Back then naivety was the norm and skepticism was a foreign language, and I just think every once in a while you need fries and a chocolate milkshake and your mom.
The thing that gives life its point is that there is always something new to learn. Over the past year or so, I've come to the conclusion that the moment you think you have everything figured out, you don't. You never arrive. It's the elusive finish line that we'll never cross this side of Heaven. It's always more and more, deeper and deeper, experience overlapping experience, wave over crashing wave, lessons learned. And then more lessons to learn. Year 17-18 has been chock-full of this. At times I've wanted to point a finger at the Teacher and say, "Stop it! I have enough homework as it is! I never enrolled for a B.A. in Christianity. I'm not that spiritual. Really, God, I'm not." Nevertheless, you learn whether you want to or not. I'm glad God doesn't take orders from us.
1. Being content doesn't mean throwing your hands up in complacency. It's eager expectation married to patience and self-control.
2. Sometimes it's easier to write a research paper outline on pretty stationary.
3. Good friends are rare. Treasure them, but don't smother them.
4. Nothing wrong with being confident. Just don't get cocky about it.
5. Once you learn the true Biblical form of forgiveness, you will immediately fall head-over-heels in love with it.
6. Sometimes you just have to tell the negativity committee that meets inside your head to sit down and shut up.
7. Knowing exactly what you want before you go shopping is a huge time and stress saver.
8. Listen to good music. Good, artistically rich, soul-filled ear pleasure. Sometimes the best beats are the neighborhood garage band, not the ones releasing their latest VEVO music video.
9. Trust is priceless. Damaging it costs too much.
10. Facades aren't worth it.
11. Smile.
12. Common sense isn't really all that common anymore.
13. Sometimes mothers really do know best.
14. Always feed your brain. Never stop exploring. Learn new information. Don't paralyze your curiosity.
15. Really, it's lame to do things just because everybody else is doing it.
16. No one ever accomplished anything worth doing without dipping their toes in the pond of Uncomfortable.
17. In quietness and trust is your strength. (Isaiah 30:15)
18. Love is such a worthy cause.
Photo courtesy: (1) That Kind of Woman; (2) Of All Loveliness; (3) Pinterest; (4) Of All Loveliness
