2005 Lessons

I am turning 41 this week and have been mulling over the lessons I am learning from the past year. I say “I am learning” intentionally for I do not presume to have accomplished or even fully comprehend the magnitude of the lessons below. Some are whimsical, some profound, some are stupid and some are revelations that have occurred to me in moments of illumination. They are not in either chronological order or in order of importance, they just are…so here are forty one things I’m learning in my fortieth year:

1. God is still God.
2. All you have is today.

3. You don't have to be strong all the time you know...its okay to struggle and not to know.
4. A hug is better than a doughnut and a lot healthier.
5. Prayer heals.
6. Table manners are very important and eating is more about the relationship than the entrée.
7. Respect is a taught/learned value. It is not automatic.
8. People are more important that projects.
9. Significance is more important that success.
10. It is worth the risk of being hurt to let people get close to you.
11. Those you love the most will sometimes hurt you the most, even if they don’t mean to. It is worth the risk to love.
12. Never listen to country music when you are down.
13. Promises spoken are not necessarily promises lived.
14. You can’t buy love, you can only rent it. (from RENT the movie)
15. Even worthwhile work is still work. It should not take precedence over relationships and should be a priority, not the priority.
16. Grief is an inescapable process…just embrace it.
17. Authentic love is unconditional, unfathomable and unceasing and really only comes from God. We can only try to show it.
18. You cannot make somebody else love you. You are only in charge of your own feelings.
19. Being right is less important than striving to live rightly.
20. You should be careful about valuing vocation over relationships.
21. Every sunrise is God’s way of saying you get another chance.
22. M & Ms are the perfect friend maker.
23. I cannot control how others feel or what they do.
24. No relationship is perfect. It is what you do with the imperfections that determine the level of commitment.
25. Grief is an unavoidable process.
26. Feeling badly is better than not feeling at all.
27. Love really doesn’t go away, though it can be neglected.
28. Feelings are okay, crying is healthy.
29. Chatting is not really communicating and should never replace real interpersonal contact.
30. Eating badly yields feeling badly. Eat better, feel better.
31. Nobody’s theology is static.
32. Christians throw a lot of rocks.
33. Life has lessons in unusual places if you will just listen for them.
34. Love should always surprise you.
35. Never give up.
36. The less you have the less you want.
37. The best hugs come from five year olds.
38. Thankfully God give second chances even when people don’t.
39. You never know when the day will be that changes your ideas of the future.
40. You should not be so busy that you have to talk on your cell phone in the bathroom stall.
41. Friends love you even when you don't believe it!