Lessons Learned

Today is the first new day, of a new year.  So much potential and hope sits waiting at the starting line.  I don't really do resolutions at the New Year, because I pretty much am resolving situations and thoughts all year long.  The New Year for me is more of a review of what I've learned so that I can continue to apply it to this next 365 days of the continuation of refining who I am.  So, who am I now?

I am someone who has learned that you can't change people, you can only change yourself. 

I am someone who continues to see that the amazing biblical applications applied to my life and the lives of people I observe, really do work.  For instance, I completely understand the not worrying about tomorrow advice.  Today is enough in itself and though 24 hours may not seem long, a life time can be lived and lost in that period, so cherish every moment, even the bad, because without that the good would not be as sweet. 

I am someone who has learned that it's okay to make mistakes as long as you learn from them.  That 'failure' depends on your definition; A failure can be a success depending on your attitude.

I am someone who has learned that I can judge tastes and right from wrong, but I can't judge someones response to life's situations.  Doing that diminishes who that person is and the experiences that have been refining them, as well as sealing me off from becoming the complete human being I was intended to be. 

I am someone who has learned that you can say and do whatever you want, but if your motives and intentions are self-centered, nothing good will be accomplished, in fact, you will cause more injury and hurt.

I am someone who has learned to calm down, and that calming down comes from being humbled. I have been humbled this year, especially this summer. I have seen God working and weaving His golden threads in the worn cloth of this quilt of many experiences that is my life. If I hadn't been broken and humbled, those threads would not glisten as brightly--I am grateful.

I am someone who now understands that you can be an enabler in a lot more than just addictions, including personal enabling.
I am someone who is learning to be more patient with others as well as myself.

I am someone who understands the value of boundaries in all situations. Vagueness and 'uni-vision' takes away the uniqueness of people.  We are supposed to be individuals, unique and special. I think society has slowly dissolved that special quality we have as individuals with uni-sex mentality, and everyone having to look the same, dress the same, act the same--like a film over our eyes.  Boundaries help to strip away that film, and allow us to see more clearly who we are, who someone else is, and how to work with individual differences more effectively.

I could go on.  I have learned so much.  I hope I never stop.  I'll close with the biggest lesson (though I knew this all along, but like seeing that video in Driver's Ed. where the car is wrapped around the pole, you can know something but actually seeing it or experiencing it changes your whole perception). That lesson is (and it's another biblical truth) you can say and do whatever you want, but if Love is not at the foundation, you have nothing.  So, a New Year's blessing to everyone is, "May you be guided by and lifted by Love. May you have the courage to love others. May the love of God be showered on you and yours like a cleansing rain."