What 29 Taught Me

As I am on the eve of what will be my 30th birthday (October 22, 1982), I have spent 29 reflecting on, well…the last 29 years: what worked well, where did I utterly fail, where are the places I still have to grow, relationships, things beyond and outside of my control. I always ask my friends at their birthday parties, “What did this year teach you?” Here’s a look at what 29 taught me.
29 taught me:
-You cannot put a price tag on experience.
– Keep God at the center.
– Love myself.
– I am not crazy.
– You really can live your dreams. There is nothing like doing what you love with the people you love. I found them both in InterVarsity…AGAIN!
– Never compromise your values. It’s better to be punished for sticking to your values than to compromise and suffer as a result.
– You can tell if people respect you based on how they treat you.
– Never let anyone talk down to you whether a friend, co-worker or boss. If they do it once, they will do it again.
– The safest place to be is in the will of God.
– You discover who your friends are not in moments of ease but in moments of difficulty. A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity. Special thanks to Darnell Dibbles, David Cole and Candace Pearsall who carried me through age 29.
– If someone abuses you once, they will do it again.
– 30 year olds have to stretch on a regular basis!
– Hurt people hurt people. Hurt pastors hurt churches. Hurt leaders hurt generations.
– God will provide.
– Follow Jesus first, not people.
– Mistakes can be forgiven. Consequences linger.
– There is a provision alike marvelous and merciful in this world, that the sufferer should never know the intensity of the pain to which he endures by its present torture, but by the pang that rankles after it. – Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlett Letter
– Stop rushing.
– Don’t let people and things stress you out.
– Don’t buy into other people’s dreams for your life. It is your life, not there’s. God will hold you accountable for what He told you, not what they think of you.
– Read something every day.
– There’s nothing like being understood.
– “If a town does not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet.” – Jesus
– A “ready, shoot, aim” is not a good thing.
– How you do things is just as important as what you do.
– Words do hurt.
– When someone shows you who they really are, believe them.
– Don’t doubt yourself.
– Sometimes you have to encourage yourself.
– No matter what, count it all joy…