forty: entering into a new decade with hope

Not only has a new year started, but a new DECADE started yesterday! That seems so very surreal to me. How is it that I am FORTY??? Somehow, I find it comical ... and oh, so very humbling. It's sobering, to be honest! I never imagined I'd ever turn forty. Truth be known, I thought my life would have ended way before I turned 40. And yet, I'm still here. I've thought a lot about the greatest life lessons I've learned/am learning ... lessons from the past year & the past decade. They are vast in number ... numbering far more than 40. However, I'll try to focus on the top 40 life lessons, quotes, Scriptures and other practical things that have been beneficial for me as I've completed my 40th orbit around the sun!

1. NEVER SAY NEVER!!! Oh, how I have found myself "eating my words" as I'd declare that I'd never (fill in the blank)... and I think I've ended up doing most, if not all, of the 'NEVER' statements!
2. Taking care of myself is NOT selfish. It's absolutely necessary ... while many people agree with this, they aren't exactly understanding when you say 'NO' ... however, it is necessary, at times. As my father's caregiver, in the early days of his medical journey, and as his advocate, throughout the journey 'til his death, I found myself burning life's candle at both ends, not taking care of my own health and feeling guilty for saying 'NO'  ... and the price I paid has been great! In the process of healing (physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally), I have found nothing but grace from the Father. His patience, truly, amazes me!
3. You can be in a room full of people and still be incredibly lonely. You can be alone and content. 
4. Music is therapy! Although, I dabble with learning to play the piano some (thanks to YouTube), lessons fizzled out twice during my journey with Dad. When lessons started back in January of this year, there's a sense of purpose. A sense of healing. A sense of being okay again. It doesn't matter if it's scales, theory/method, hymns....my music is a gift! My teacher is a gift!
5. Life is so fragile! My family has learned this in ways none of us would have ever dreamed or hoped for. Over the last ten years, my family has lost 13 or 14 family members. Last year, a friend from school died. A client with whom I was very close died. A lady I loved dearly from cancer. In 2018, just a few days before my beautiful grandmother died, my first teacher who loved me since I was in her kindergarten class died. I'd never known this level of sorrow/loss. However, none of this prepared me for the death of my own father. Everything stopped when he died! I began questioning the reason for my existence when he died. I, honestly, wanted to join him in death. I couldn't breathe! After losing death, I saw that EVERY aspect of our lives ... our relationships, our skills/abilities, our ministries MUST be held with open hands raised to heaven, in total surrender! 
6. Life is hard; God is good!
7. I am not fatherless because I belong to God the Father. While this seems obvious, it is very stabilizing when my Dad is gone ... and I was a "Daddy's Girl"....
8. "The number one skill in life is not giving up." ~ Bryant McGill
9. While sanctification is an active reality in the life of the child of God, this process is to refine us ... NOT to squelch our God-given personalities! One of the most liberating things I've learned over the last 18 months or so is that the Lord is the One who designs our personalities. He plants the passions we have within our souls. Pure and organic passion ... that we are to cultivate for HIS glory. How thankful I am that we aren't all alike! I'm thankful for my logical friends!! They keep me - SOMEWHAT - balanced!
10. "There is enough room in this world for everyone's unique gifts, talents, and passions. Just because someone else is doing it doesn't mean you shouldn't!" ~ Krystal Wawryzniak
11. JOY! Joy comes from a deliberate pursuit of a relationship with Jesus ... even in seasons of sorrow.
12. Air fryers are amazing inventions!
13. Creativity originated with God. He is the Creator, after all. To create is to commune with the Creator.
14. Prayer is your soul coming face to face with God Himself.
15. Forgiveness opens the heart to reconciliation ... even with the hardest person.
16. Heaven rules!
17. My identity in Christ is the key to maturity and spiritual growth. Remember WHOSE I am and live accordingly.
18. Mission is about mindset. ~ Tim Tebow ... Every inch of this globe is a mission field. Will I serve NOW? 
19. "Being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God's will." ~ Deitrich Bonhoeffer
20. Birthday cake calories don't count! Well, according to Pinterest, anyway!
21. Pursuing your dreams can be stressful, but it is ALWAYS worth it!!!
22. The struggles/trials/difficulties of life are NOT lived in vain. The Lord uses them for His glory, His eternal redemptive purposes ... and for our good.
23. Coffee is a gift from God.
24. Your closest friends don't always have to live in the same city/state/region/country as you! 
25. The Lord enables His people to walk with their heads held high.
26. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them for the LORD your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you." ~ Deuteronomy 31:6
27. "Look to the LORD & His strength; seek His face always." ~ 1 Chronicles 16:11
28. Seek to honor the LORD in all areas of life - art/photography/music - by honing/developing my specific skill set.
29. Live a life that says: "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You." (2 Chronicles 20:12B)
30. Be intentional about being thankful. Make a gratitude list or create a GRATITUDE JAR.
31. Face your irrational fears! There's much freedom to be gained!
32. Lean in ... to the Lord Jesus Christ. Make eye contact when have a conversation with another person.
33. "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
34. "Hardship often prepares an ordinary person for an extraordinary destiny." ~ CS Lewis
35. "Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important." ~ CS Lewis
36. The surrendered wounds of life become the beautiful scars of our story ... Scars that praise the Healer for His kindness.
37. "Pain, if sanctified, creates tenderness toward others." ~ Charles Spurgeon
38. "Joy runs deeper than despair." ~ Corrie ten Boom
39. "Don't dig up in doubt what you planted in faith." ~ Elizabeth Elliot
40. One of the biggest things I've learned is that there's no one like God's real people. When the rug was pulled out from under me when Dad died, the Lord sustained me/continues to sustain me through the personal ministries of His people. 

I am blessed beyond measure ... and when the hard days come, as they do for everyone, I will seek to LOOK UP to the One who has numbered my days in His book. The One who ordains all my tomorrows. The One who has claimed me as His own! 
Here's to another orbit around the sun!