My twenty-first year brought me to my highest highs and lowest lows. Mountains that brought my eyes to the sky and valleys that brought my knees to the ground.
It took me to 13 countries and 3 different places I called home base. I asked questions I never thought I’d have to ask, and met people I never would have expected to impact my heart in the way they did.
I drew away from writing on this blog for most of this year because, frankly, it was the first year life swept me off my feet and challenged me to question critically who I think I am and who I think God is. A lot of beauty has come out of that – everything I’ve built up and torn down when it comes to faith and identity and perspective. At the same time, now I do find myself searching for solid ground. I’ve found while some branches need to be tended to and trimmed, it’s hard to grow and grow fruitfully without firm roots.
With all that said, I’ve missed using this blog as (1) a creative outlet and (2) a way to connect with people who I can learn from and listen to and support. A lot of conversations that have changed my life have come out of the vulnerability of writing on my thoughts and I don’t want that to be something I take for granted.
It’s been a big year – and summing up the places and people that have changed me is next to impossible so I’ve been thinking hard about God’s nudges and whispers that have really stood out to me. In my twenty-second year, I’m committing to setting out fearlessly to take everything I God taught me in 2018 and use to gracefully and purposefully. Here’s a stab at doing His crazy work justice…
21 lessons from my 21st year:
- Important things aren’t really things
- The only thing to be afraid of is living in fear
- No one really cares about how silly you look because they’re mostly worried about how silly they look.
- You have to acknowledge that your emotions exist in order to move through them.
- On the same note – emotional wounds – like physical wounds, have to be tended to and worked on in order to heal.
- Although our situations are different – we are given the same amount of hours in a day and the same capability to pursue joy
- A dance party is perhaps the best temporary distraction to any crappy situation, struggle, etc.
- Mental, physical, and spiritual health are so much more deeply interwoven than I ever knew and you HAVE to tend to each of them equally. Invest in yourself.
- Vulnerability is a precious gift and maybe the most important thing in creating authenticity in a relationship.
- Life is fragile and time is finite and we should live in such a way that acknowledges that.
- Meals are meant to be shared
- We’re all driven by different things and there isn’t necessarily a right thing to be motived by. I’m learning to chase what makes me feel awesome and let other people do the same, even if the answers are different. No one is you, and that is your power.
- You have to be filled up in order to pour out.
- You cannot – and will never be able to – put God in a box.
- It is up to you to find joy in the ordinary and I think a big part of finding it is to invite God into your search. I’m figuring out what that means.
- Two things can be true at the same time. I am flawed but still worthy. Life is broken but also beautiful.
- If you don’t ask, the answer will always be no.
- …SO put your foot in the freakin’ door!!
- You miss so much life living in a hurry
- You have to nourish your roots if you expect them to support your growth
- But realistically what I’ve learned most is that I don’t have all the answers and I have a lot left to learn.
I’m still working on a lot of these things – but I’m lucky to have people around me who push me to be better all while loving me well and teaching me to love life well. Here’s to blooming with grace!!
Wholehearted Joy 