To the younger me….

In my last few hours as a 34 year old here on this earth I have been reflecting on how life is now….. I often hear people ask, “what would you tell the younger you?” I always thought that question was kind of silly, honestly, because I guess I always thought of answering it from the standpoint of having regret. I am not someone who carries alot of regret. There are a handful of things I regret in my life but mostly I take each experience or season and try to learn something from it. Some times I have learned to adjust the sails and sometimes I have learned to just stay the course. So I always figured there wasn’t anything I would tell my younger self because then I wouldn’t have learned from any of those experiences and I wouldn’t be who I am today. Today though I realized there are some things I would tell the younger me……

1-Never stop learning: There are so many things to learn, to do, to experience, to take part in. Learn from books, from experiences. Learn from those older and wiser than you, learn from those younger than you. Take a moment from every day and learn one new thing. Knowledge is power and it keeps our minds curious and open to all kinds of amazing adventures.

2-Read alot: Read fairytales to keep your child like spirit alive. Read self help books to keep your mind healthy. Read the Bible to keep your spirit whole and your heart happy. Read biographies to learn about other people from around the world. There are millions upon millions of books out there, just read something!

3-Care: When someone is speaking to you, take that moment to truly listen to what they are saying. Show people that someone cares about them, use peoples names in grocery store checkouts, say hi to the greeters at the door. Smile ALL THE TIME. Smiles are contagious and when you smile and make eye contact people cant help but smile back. Care enough to show up to important moments in peoples lives around you. Do 1 random act of kindness in a day. Care for someone each day. It keeps your heart open to people and their needs around you.

4-Love: Love everyone. As hard as this is sometimes do it anyway. Feelings are not fact! The people that need love the most are the ones that are the hardest to love. How much better would this world be if we looked at it through the eyes of Jesus, loving everyone like He loved us.

5-Take Time/slow down: Take time for people. Strike up conversations with those that look like they have had a rough day. Check in with those that you know are alone alot, friends, relatives, whoever in your life that is in that season. Make people laugh. Slow down and don’t be in a rush to always get to the next thing. Life is short and people are hurting. Take time to hear their stories.

6-Pray: Pray in the morning, pray during the day, pray in the evening, pray all the time! Pray for your family, your friends, your pastors, your teachers, even pray for your enemies. Pray for those that you don’t even know. Pray and intercede for needs that have not been met yet. Prayer is POWERFUL. God says- 1 John 5:14 – “This is the confidence we have in approaching God; that if we ask ANYTHING according to His will, He HEARS us.” There is no small prayer.

7-say your sorry…alot: We are human. We will make mistakes, we will hurt people we love. When you do something that hurts someone else, be the first to say your sorry. When someone tells you that what you did hurt them and you don’t necessarily agree, be the first to apologize for hurting them. How can a person still argue with someone who was the first to break the awkward silence or be the first to call and apologize? Its hard to dislike someone who is humble enough to apologize easily.

8-relationships, relationships, relationships: How powerful the right relationships can be in your life. How powerful the wrong relationships can be in your life. Steward the healthy relationships you have and get rid of the toxic ones. Surround yourself with people who love you, who care about you but also who will call you out (in love). I cannot begin to tell you how powerful the healthy relationships in my life have been. Cherish them.

9-let it go: Don’t take life so seriously. Ask yourself often, “Is this the hill I want to die on today?” Most of the time it wont be. Let the little things go. As you grow older you will learn that there is so much stuff that we worry about that is such wasted energy that could be put towards something so much more constructive in this world.

10-Seek God: I saved the best for last. Every day of your life SEEK GODS WILL! Ask Him to guide your steps. God is so much greater than anything we could even imagine here on earth. He loves us, He knows us and He wants whats best for us, ALWAYS. His ways are so good and even in the valleys His path will shine through in the darkness. I wish I would not have wasted so much time thinking, “I could do things so much better my way.” I wasted precious moments of my life because I thought my ways were better. Now that I live everyday seeking Him, I cannot fathom doing it any different.

So here’s to 35. I feel like I have lived a hundred different lives already. Most of that was me trying to find my way. Now that I am here at 35 I am loving life to the fullest, each and every day. I have learned over the past few years that life is so short. In the blink of an eye we can be done with our time on earth. I want everyone to know I enjoyed the ride! It’s hard to imagine life getting any better than it already is. May this next year be the best one yet!