Life Lessons (2020 and On!)

Over the past few years, I have recorded major "life lessons" that I have learned throughout specific seasons. It is interesting to observe how the lessons that I have been learning are directly related to the problems, 'trials', and situations that I am going through at the moment. 

So many of these literal seasons and months, I have been stressed out and worried about where I am in life and what the next steps over the next days and weeks were going to be. But, as is visible here, I was able to focus on the present and take away important information as I was struggling. God still used these moments to teach me new things that I can continue to apply to many more situations. But, that does not mean that it is engraved in my brain. Some of the lessons will be re-taught to me (as you might be able to see here, as well). 

To start, we have the mottos that I gained during the crazy year of 2020- when I was a senior in high school, figuring out what college to go to, taking college classes, figuring out how to get a car, figuring out where I want to be in the future, and what I was supposed to do with the worldwide crises going on around me (as I was beginning to be old enough to understand more about politics and the 'real world'). 

Mottos as of Summer 2020:

• 1 Corinthians 10:31- GIVE GOD GLORY.
• Romans 8:28- GOD IS IN CONTROL.
• Colossians 2:3- JESUS IS ENOUGH.
• Philippians 1:6- IT IS A PROCESS.

I could go into specifics of how I found and chose those passages and phrases. But, I can tell you that mottos have stuck with me for a long time. My email signature includes those four phrases and verses. This is part of what keeps me going and keeps my mind fixed on God and His perfect plans in my life. For example, when I remember that my goal in life is to Give God Glory, then when I need to make a choice in life I can ask myself  "Does this give God glory?'. Or, when life seems out of control for me, I can remember that God is in Control. Or, whenever I feel like life is not going the way I want it to and I do not feel like my needs are going to be taken care of, I can know that Jesus is Enough for me. Or, whenever I am going through a tough time and I do not think I am where I should be, I can remember that It is a Process. 

My Summer of 2021 was a crazy one. I worked at a camp called Camp Victory in Zumbro Falls, MN. It was a really interesting summer. I learned much at this camp, even as a counselor. I learned more about kids, I learned more about my walk with God, and I learned more about how I interact with people. If I am honest, even though it was a Christian camp I interacted with people that think so much different than me, and that was a learning curve. My mental health was not good because I did not understand that it was a time for growth. I wanted to take it as a time to make friends and memories, though the original goal was going there to serve. My time away from camp was also a rollercoaster of emotions, mostly dropping me into the water instead of flying me high in the sky. But, again, I was learning. I was learning that it is okay to not get along with everyone. I was learning that some people see the world much differently than me. 

Summer of 2021: Life is not all about me, it is all about Him!

Summer of 2021: I need to show God’s love (agape) to EVERYONE- including believers!

So, I came into the semester at the beginning of the 21-22 school year with a new outlook on life and on school. I was ready to become friends with all of the new students, to build friendships with the girls that I was friends with before, and not venture out of my comfort zone to meet new people. I was ready to have a positive outlook on life and all of the events that were taking place in mine. I was ready to start off well. Of course, it did not last long. Relationship situations started coming into my life at rapid rates. My appreciation for my job was dropping as were my performance and interactions with others. I was falling apart mentally because I did not think that I was who I was supposed to be and where I wanted to be. 

Fall of 2021: I am not good enough. This just shows how much more God’s love is for me.

Fall of 2021: The Gospel can be summarized by God’s love for us.

Fall 2021: There are three influences trying to pull us away from God: self, Satan, and the world. They need to be approached a little differently.

Fall 2021: God WANTS to take my weight and carry it because it is not heavy for Him.

The Winter of 2021 was an opportunity for me to get my mental health better. The three-week vacation allowed me to return home for the first time since heading off to college a year and a half before. I was ready to come home to the natural comfort of familiarity. I was ready to see people that I got along with well before, and I was ready to renew some relationships with people that I might not have ended well with originally. But, I had some decisions I had to make while there. I had to figure out choices that would affect my future self as well as the people at my college in the future. 

Winter 2021: My goal is to give God glory (since about winter of 2018) so everything I do should be with that focus in mind.

Winter 2021: Everything I choose to watch and focus my mind on should be true, right, lovely, and commendable in God’s eyes (Philippians 4:8). If it is not, should I focus on it?

The start of the new year, 2022, was a good one. I had taken New Year's Resolutions seriously by dividing it up into smaller monthly segments to focus on. I had made some choices that I was confident about based on my financial situation as well as laziness and uncertainty about what else was out there. But, that did not mean that my life was easy. I regretted a choice that I had made and had to figure out when I would say something about it. I had to make choices about my career, and it was affecting the people that I spent time with. 

Spring 2022: True joy is found when Peace is rooted in the Lord. True joy is likely to flow out from the inside instead of just staying in there.

Spring 2022: Relationships take work on both people. Words are not necessary in all cases to spend time with someone.

The seasons come and go so fast. I found myself in the middle of another summer. A summer that I had not even considered could have existed the summer before. I had thought about my future five years ahead of time, but I forgot that I had to live through the years between where I was then and the five years that were in the future. So, via a short amount of time and some quick decisions I made, I found myself living in an apartment with three of my friends, and looking for a job over the summer to be able to survive the coming school year. I had some fall-outs with some of my friends, and I was involved in some family talk as my sister was about to make a big leap as well. 

Summer 2022: True peace only comes when we rely on God 100%. When our full trust is in God alone.

Summer 2022: The power and the need for prayer. I have asked so many people to pray for me without thinking about what that really means. And when people ask me to pray for them it means that they know that I care about them and will bring that request before God on their behalf.

Another school year was coming again as well. More new people would be introduced to campus. I was put in a new position of leadership over some of the campus with a team of other godly men and women on campus. But, I was not sure if I was going to get along with all of the people that I would interact with. I was not sure how well I would balance school, working, and this leadership position.

Fall 2022: When life seems to not be going okay because of future stress, it’s not something worth worrying about: God knows what the future holds, and His plan is better than mine.

Fall 2022: The Bible tells me that I should take care of my body, the Temple. I need to think about what I am putting in me (with moderation) to take care of myself.

Finally, Thanksgiving Break came. And went.  I became very stressed around the time between Thanksgiving Break and Christmas break as I felt that everything in the world around me was collapsing. I was convinced that the 10+ assignments that I had to get done in a matter of days would be an impossible goal. I was easily angered by all of the people around me. I did not understand how big the God that I wanted to serve in my life was. I did not understand how big of a calling it is. 

Winter 2022: My attitude toward my relationship with God affects my attitude toward the people around me.

Winter 2022: I, a meager little human, can have a relationship with the God of the Universe. Someone so big that I cannot understand just how much power He has. Yet, he still loves me. He forgives me when I mess up.