2022 hard lessons and 2023 silent hopes
It is true, as you grow older, you desire simple.
Adulting means simplified goals.
Every year, I constantly recollect. This love for recollection has grown in different ways as seasons change.
One day, when my youth fades, I will go back to all the written memories in my heart which are also tangibly kept. Both are equally valuable.
I have written a couple of lessons learned (and have been learning) from the past year and my silent hopes & commitments for the year.
2022 lessons, in no particular order:
- The older I get, the fewer things I hold dear.
- The most important ministry you could ever have, is your family.
- Momentary desires are fleeting. Our desires do not call the shots. Only God’s will determine how every single thing will play out in our lives.
- Forgive, from the heart.
- There is no substitute for time alone with God.
- Treasure people who are with you and for you.
- Worship that costs little, accomplishes little.
- Humility is not an act, it is a nature & a byproduct of a surrendered life.
- Be gracious and gentle, but speak the truth no matter what.
- If God says you can do it, then it can be done.
- Build life-giving habits. (SPOILER: IT’S HARD)
- Rain or shine, always wear sunscreen.
- If you’re looking for a reason to be offended, you’ll always find one. If you’re looking for a reason to be grateful, YOU’LL ALWAYS FIND ONE.
- Live from His approval, not for it.
- Account for everything — your cash inflow, outflow, bills, expenses; your visions and dreams, anything that matters to you. You will thank yourself later.
- Remain genuine after being hurt.
- I am not always right. I have lapses and weak areas.
- Correction and conflict edify character.
- Discernment is different from judgment.
- The healed will always help the hurting to heal. The hurting will always find reasons to hurt the healed.
- You can’t grow until you learn to grieve.
- The more we serve Christ, the less we will serve ourselves
- There’s also no substitute for personal conviction. Do not just echo other people’s principles — learn from people without disappearing.
- Appreciate and do not withhold. Other people’s wisdom & gift don’t diminish yours.
- Knowledge is attractive but wisdom that comes from above is supreme.
- Love people for who they are, not for what they can do for you.
- Have humor in your failures 😉
- Freely receive and give without calculating the cost.
- Your gift is meant to fill a need.
- Plant seeds wherever you go.
- Kindness in word is a product of a mindful intent
- It’s okay to not be okay. God knows anyway. And the “Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
- Cherish your place of honest lament. It is exhausting and unsettling, but it is where we can truly experience the nearness and comfort of Christ.
- If the Lord rescues you from your pain, it shows the world his power to change circumstances at his Word. But if he doesn’t rescue you right away, and we choose to serve and trust him anyway, it shows the world his power to change a heart — a heart that loves him above all else.
This 2023, my heart’s hope and commitment is:
- To prioritize abiding in Jesus
- To be intentional with family, friends, and community
- To deeply know and be known.
- To ruthlessly eliminate hurry.
- To consistently fan the flames of gratitude.
- To give the benefit of the doubt and believe the best.
- To live in the tension instead of always trying to resolve it.
- To walk in kindness.
- To show grace toward failures, even my own.
- To make time for calm reflection. Commune with my own heart and be still.
- To always forgive and repent from the heart.
- To offer honest worship.
- To focus on holistic (relational, physical, mental, spiritual) health.
- To be committed to showing up
- To serve humbly, excellently, diligently.
- To always pursue significance and growth
- To be mindful but not conscious
- To care about the right things
- To love and lead with all my might.
- To steward this life gently and obediently.
“Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it — because it does. Give yourselves to the gifts God gives you. Most of all, try to proclaim his truth.
…When you proclaim his truth in everyday speech, you’re letting others in on the truth so that they can grow and be strong and experience his presence with you.”
1 Corinthians 14:1–3 MSG
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