About three years ago, I began an adventure with The Lord that has forever changed how I live my life.
Here are 3 lessons I’ve learned in the past 3 years on living fully alive:
1. You Do You.
I spent a good chunk of my life trying to win the approval and affirmation of those around me. Acceptance isn’t a bad thing, but molding myself into the image I thought people wanted was. I found myself falling victim to other people’s perceptions of who I am, instead of being confident in who The Lord says I am. As a result, I ended up taking on burdens that weren’t mine to carry, started believing things about myself that just weren’t true, and found myself at the mercy of people’s ever-changing emotions and opinions. It was exhausting and I felt like, no matter how hard I tried, I was never enough.
One Sunday, I was at church and the guy who walked across the Grand Canyon on a tight rope came to speak and show off. As he pranced across the rope (balancing a chair on his head), he explained that tight rope walkers are able to stay on the wire by focusing on a stable object at the end of the rope. He said that if they were to look at their feet or what is going on around them, they would fall.
That really stuck with me and is definitely applicable to our identity in The Lord. If we focus on the unstable opinions of those around us or on our own performance and abilities, eventually we are going to fall and get hurt.
God’s truth about who you are is the only thing that can sustain you to the end.
God designed us each unique to fulfill a purpose that only we can fill. If we spend our whole lives conforming to man’s opinion, instead of embracing who the Father created us to be, we are robbing the world of something they desperately need.
Once you start truly loving yourself for who God created you to be, those around you will be able to do the same. You are never going to feel truly loved by those around you until you are brave enough to show them your true self.
When I embraced the freedom of finding my acceptance in the Father, I found a fulfillment and joy like I had never experienced before.
So, do you, because nobody else can!
2. Be present
When I was little, I remember dreaming of being an adult. I thought about how I could drive my own car to Australia, stay out late, and eat dessert without finishing my dinner. The irony is, now that I’m quickly approaching a quarter of a century, I think about how expensive car payments are, and how appealing going to bed early sounds, and how that dessert is going to go straight to my booty.
It’s funny how I spent so much of my time idealizing my future, instead of embracing the sweetness of the season I was in. Our culture tells us to go to school, get a job, get engaged, get married, buy a house, have kids, blah blah blah… Not saying those are “bad” things, but when our minds are constantly focusing on what’s next, we miss out on so much.
I remember spending the year before my World Race thinking about my life on the race and a chunk of my race thinking about after my race. Looking back, I missed out on so much that God was doing in those times, because I was trying to control His plans for my future.
During month 6 of my race in India, I remember spending too much of my time on google (searching for schools and NYC apartments) and too little of my time loving on the deaf students we were working with. Of course, most of the things I thought I had planned out for the next season of my life didn’t even end up happening, because God had something so much better in store. Looking back, I so wish I would have trusted The Lord to open a door for my future in His time and found fulfillment in where I was at.
I’ve learned, by spending less time thinking about what’s next and more time living in what’s now, I am able to recognize and enjoy what the Spirit is doing in every season of my life.
If you want to be fulfilled, embrace this present moment of your life, because at one point it was exactly what you wanted and you’re never going to get it back again.
3. Follow Your Passions and Dream BIG!
Somewhere between 3 and 30, we’ve stopped dreaming of being presidents and pilots and settled for a more attainable career with decent insurance and a 401k instead. I mean, that’s the “wise” and “safe” thing to do, right? Our childhood dreams are simply too unrealistic. Let’s be honest, they take too much risk, faith, and belief in ourselves and God that we just don’t have anymore. So, we settle. We settle for a comfortable life with an okay job and a deep dissatisfaction in our souls that we try to fill with monetary distractions.
I read a quote by Donald Miller that said, “Surprisingly, the number one regret of the dying was that they wish they would’ve had the courage to live a life true to themselves instead of the life others expected of them.”
I’m not trying to be morbid, but I don’t want to look back on my life and regret not fully living it. I don’t want to spend the majority of my days doing something that doesn’t make my heart come alive. I would rather spend the rest of my life doing what I love and living in a tent than spend it doing something I don’t really care about in a nice big house.
(Oh wait, that is my life…. #missionaryprobs)
Before I get too far gone, I want to say that I am NOT implying that if you aren’t fulfilling your childhood fantasy of being an astronaut, you aren’t living a kingdom life. I am saying that if you aren’t spending your life doing what you are passionate about, you’ve settled.
If you are like me, what your passionate about may not even line up with a typical career. I want to spend my life building community, mentoring women, loving people like Christ, and bring church to people that wouldn’t typically step foot inside of a building with a steeple. So, trust me when I say, that there is nothing wrong with your mission field being a restaurant, department store, or office building.
Your job should NOT define you.
It is one of my biggest pet peeves when people try to define others by what they do. Honestly, we should be less concerned about what we are doing and more concerned with who we are becoming. I want to care more about loving God and those around me than where my cash flow is coming from.
If you want to enjoy your life, spend it doing what makes your heart come alive. Maybe that looks like a change of career paths, moving halfway across the world, or a new heart posture where you are at.
I know all of that is easier said than done and it’s hard facing the resistance of people who don’t agree with your life choices. However, in the words of Kris Vallaton,” If you aren’t facing any resistance in your life, than you probably aren’t doing anything worth being resisted.”
Honestly, we should be more afraid of settling for an ordinary life than of dreaming too big and following our passions. God wired you with your passions for a purpose and I promise you can’t dream too big for Him.
“Id rather have an improbable faith than a predictable life.” – Bob Goff
Live fully alive and enjoy every second of it,
-Mo
