I'm Learning

I'm learning. We are all learning. Life IS learning. Every day we wake up, we go about our day, we go to sleep, we repeat. Nothing extraordinary occurs, but over time, everything changes and we continue learning and growing and simply being.

Lately, I've been learning. I will always be learning.

I'm learning....

-I am my own toughest critic. But Christ died so that I can live through Him, and His blood makes me righteous. If God sees my many faults and still grants me righteousness, why should I continue to beat myself up for imperfections? I still have a long way to go in life, but I don't have to go that way on my own.

-People will disappoint, because people are imperfect. On the flip side, people will surprise and bless you when you least expect it, because people are not all bad. We all have to work together.

-The importance of working alongside others. In this season of marathon training, I am essentially training alongside 3 people who have never run the distance they are training for before, whereas I have run the half and full marathon and know what to expect. Training with them is teaching me patience, grace, and that running is something to enjoy, not something that has to be skillful or speedy. Running alongside others places you into vulnerable, beautiful situations that can be shared together.

-"If you are a person who can't say "no", you are probably a slave to others' expectations." ~Lecrae

With that quote, I am learning how to stand up for myself and defend what I know to be true or what I know to be best for me, even if that defense makes others upset. That doesn't mean that I am exactly good at this "standing up" thing yet, or that I will be fighting over everything. Just means that if something is wrong, I am learning how to say "no", and that it's ok to say "no".

-To accept gifts or favors with grace. I don't really like receiving gifts from people. But on occasion, people offer to give you things because they want to bless you. And the best way to bless them in return is to graciously accept what they are offering instead of fighting and trying to give the offering back. (Does that sound selfish? It makes sense in my head.)

-Why people are skeptical of religion. Growing up, I was always so secure at my home church, and I didn't fathom how people could reject God because of interactions they had experienced with religious organizations. Since college began, I have shuffled from church to church, left many campus ministries, and have been rather confused by the abundance of manmade rulings and rituals that have corrupted the experience of Christianity. I am having to re-learn to trust in Jesus alone, and not on the precepts or ideals of man. I am being challenged to simply be still and to listen to and worship God alone, without being weighed down by the chains of legality.

-Often, change will not occur until you suck up your pride and get to work. The trash in the sink isn't yours? Clean it up anyways. With a smile.

-How to delegate. The only way in which people will feel that they belong to a group and have ownership of that group is if they have something to do to help the group thrive.

-Even when I think that things will never be ok....things always end up being ok.

-Sometimes all you need is a change in perspective and someone in your life who will tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. Or to give you a good slap in the face.