Happy Birthday to Me!  I turned 28 years young this week. 28 and feeling great as I like to tell everyone! Another year has flown by right before my eyes, and the word that has been on my mind lately is blessed.  More than anything I just feel so blessed right now.  Blessed to have lived 28 years on this earth.  Blessed for my health, my family and friends, and just this exact season that I am in right now in my life.  All glory and praise to you Lord.  Now while 28 years may not seem like a lot of time to some people, it is all I have ever known.  27 was an eventful roller coaster of a year.  I cried, I laughed, and continued learning some much needed lessons in life.  So, what better way to spend my birthday then sharing with you a few things that I learned when I was 27.

1. Pray for those who persecute you. One of my favorite posts I have written on this blog is titled, “Hurting People Hurt People”. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly encourage you to do so (link to post).  This post describes in detail a time last year when I had to learn one of the hardest lessons in life: to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.  That was one of the hardest but most rewarding things I have had to learn.  That situation pushed me to grow and mature more than I ever thought possible.   It taught me to trust God, love fearlessly, and made me a stronger person with thicker skin.  Not today Satan. Not now, Not ever.
2. God is not in a hurry. I am. No matter what season of life we may be in, I feel like we as humans sometimes are eager to get to the next. I was guilty of this this past year even though one of my favorite sayings is, “there’s a reason for your season.”  I always have been a believer in that expression.  However, I had to remind myself on a few occasions this past year to stop looking to the future and embrace the season I was in.  Although sometimes I would look at my calendar and think to myself, “Okay, it’s time for this next life event,” I realized I needed to let things happen naturally.  AKA I needed to sit back, take the passenger seat, and let God take the wheel.
3. Let Go and Let God. Any fellow control freaks out there? Where my planners at?  I don’t think I realized just how much of a control freak I can be until I began dating someone who was the complete opposite.  Now, while I may be in denial and think that I’m not as bad with planning my life as some people are, I realized that I do possess this trait.  Something I say all the time is, “Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail.”  While this is true to a certain extent this phrase only applies to a limited number of things in life.  Because the reality is that God is in Control.  Now don’t confuse what I’m saying here.  Obviously, if you are trying to lose weight and don’t meal plan, have an exercise plan, or do the work, you’re not going to achieve your goal.  What I’m saying is that at the end of the day, I learned I need to release my worries and problems, and let God handle it.  I realized that I don’t have control over a lot of things in life, rightfully so. But let me tell you, life is so much easier when you let God handle everything.
4. It’s okay not to be okay. Life is hard. Really hard.  The struggles we face, the pain we feel, it’s no wonder God didn’t intend for us to spend eternity here on earth.  We go through different seasons, we change, and we live in a world where the pressures, comparison, and evil things in this world are constantly present.  It’s okay to go through times in life where you may by struggling whether it’s in a relationship, with your children, or your career.  What you must be careful of is how you spend your time during that struggle.  Looking at Social Media multiple times in a day and seeing other people’s highlight reels isn’t going to make you feel better about all the stuff going on in your life that we would never share on social media.  That’s just a recipe for comparison waiting to happen.  You need to take the steps that are best for you whether it’s spiritually, mentally, or physically. Whether it’s seeking a counselor, therapy, or joining a support group, do the things that will only help lift you out from the thing pulling you down. Leaning into God and having a good community of family and friends can help make the not okay times okay.
5. Make the most of your life. Life is short.  We really don’t know how much time we have on this earth.  With that being said, I realized the need to make the most of the time I have on this earth with those I love.  Why not take that trip, go to that concert, or take that first step to your dream goal?  Instead of giving physical gifts for birthdays and holidays, why not plan experiences that’ll create memories and adventures that you can have forever.  Now that is priceless.  (Hallmark, holler at ya girl. 😉 )