Life Lessons

The semester is drawing to a close. I've finished two of my classes before Thanksgiving (yippee!), and there's more finals just around the corner. I have learned a ton of lessons throughout this semester. Here's just a few things I've found. 

1) You can’t do it on your own. You can’t tell yourself, “Today, I am going to be kind, patient, and faithful”. If you do, you will be disappointed. Growing fruit takes a long time. Can fruit be grown in a day? Of course not! A seed cannot grow by itself; it needs someone to nourish it. Let God nourish you, and pray that he will produce in you good fruit. This is something I've always known, but this was shed in a new light for me this semester. 

2) Trust God is in control. I worry a lot. I always imagine the worst case scenario. Yes, it makes me prepare more. However, most of the time worrying just drains me and makes me tired. I was sick this semester. It was so hard to balance school along with trying to get well. I had so much to catch up on after I felt better. I really learned to trust God through that.

3) Don’t get too close to just one person. Try and meet as many people as you can. As an introvert, I can’t begin to tell you how hard this is for me! Meeting and making new friends can be awkward. 

4) Don’t be afraid to confide in a friend. Don’t misunderstand me, your friends probably won’t like it if you always have drama and problems. However, I recently had a problem that I kept trying to fix, and it just kept unraveling again. I didn’t know what to do. I finally decided to confide in a friend, and she told me that she had gone through the same exact thing! She was able to offer some advice that really helped. God put her right there when I needed her most.

5) Do what you love, and use it to help others. My church doesn’t offer much for college-aged students, so this year I am helping in the 3's and 4's Sunday school class. I love it! I look forward to working with these little ones every week! It’s such a joy to do what I love and help out the children’s ministry at my church.

6) Relax, it can’t be perfect; go with the flow. Life throws curve balls all the time (like getting sick). I'm a planner by nature, and I like everything to be perfectly planned out. I have high expectations and am disappointed when they are not met. Life isn't perfect and it's full of unexpected surprises. If anything, teaching kids has definitely taught me the moral that things rarely go as planned.

7) Be humbled by your mistakes. Have you ever said or done anything that you wish you could have taken back? Maybe it was a snide remark or a selfish action, but it made you look and feel guilty. It happens to all of us, and it's very humbling. Let God use it to show you how much you need a Savior.

Maybe you can relate to something I've said. Or maybe you can learn and take something away from this. If something stood out to you, or if you have a lesson to share with me, please leave a comment!

Thanks for taking your time to read my blog!