What an incredible, crazy, epic year.
I thought I’d share some of the major lessons I learned and re-learned in 2014.
(Sidenote: These lessons have impacted me personally and may not relate to others. However, I hope you can glean something from what I’ve experienced.)
Here are 11 lessons I learned:
- Be thankful in all circumstances. I thought I was a pretty thankful person, but I realized I tended to be more thankful when things were going well. In Haiti, I started to write down daily what I was thankful for. Finding those God winks during the day that remind me that God is always good and faithful has made a huge difference in my life.
- Finish strong. How you end one seasons sets the tone for how you start a new season. You can tell a lot about a person by how he/she ends a season.
- Persevering can look like being still. I was always that person who had a million things on her plate. I thought that resting or being still was for the weak. But in Bolivia when I got sick and was forced to rest, I realized the importance of being still. It slowed down my life and allowed me to appreciate the little things.
- Actions trump words. I could talk all I wanted about my love for Jesus and His people, but I had to actually walk in it. It’s a lot harder to walk in something. But when your actions align with what you say or believe in your head, you have authority in that area.
- Community is important. I never really lived in community before and didn’t understand the importance. It wasn’t until I lived in community 24/7 that I realized how fruitful it is to do life with people.
- Sisterhood is worth fighting for. I used to never trust women. In my past, they always backstabbed me, gossiped, or didn’t care. To live with only women 24/7 was hard work, but so beautiful and freeing.
- My identity is in Christ. I’m great at being a chameleon. I can adapt to the different groups I’m a part of, but my identity would change as well. I learned though that my identity is in Christ, as His beloved daughter.
- Being vulnerable doesn’t mean your weak. I used to hate being vulnerable and crying in front of people. But I learned that being vulnerable was the first step in allowing my sisters in Christ to speak into my life, pray for me, and keep me accountable.
- Just because your story is different, doesn’t mean you can’t relate. My story consists of a lot of God’s goodness and love. To be with others who have stories of hardship and loss was difficult for me at first. But being with orphans in Ecuador made me realize I can still love on them and pray for them regardless of our backgrounds.
- Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart. I learned how to go all in with God. It wasn’t easy, but I gave up all my dreams and desires, and decided to follow down God’s perfect and pleasing for me. Praise the Lamb I did.
- Change is good. Change can be hard, but it’s an opportunity to learn and grow. I loved getting outside my comfort zone, and having a new perspective on life.
These lessons definitely stuck out to me this past year. Some of these lessons I had head knowledge of, but didn’t experience heart knowledge until this year.
I’m excited to see all the lessons I learn in 2015!
What lessons did you learn from 2014?
