Tomorrow I’m turning 50 years old and knowing that has caused me to be introspective about a few of the things those 50 years have taught me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*They\u2019ve taught me that happiness comes when we put God first, family second, and everything else third.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*They\u2019ve taught me that excelling in the things of righteousness is the most important thing we can do to prepare us to excel in all things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*They\u2019ve taught me that integrity is always the most valuable asset any of us can or will ever have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*They\u2019ve taught me that we can\u2019t successfully lose ourselves in the service of others if we don\u2019t carve out adequate time to also take care of ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*They\u2019ve taught me that taking time to watch a silly YouTube dog video with your child and putting down your phone to look them in the eye while they tell you about their day means more to them than buying them an expensive gift or taking them on an exotic trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*They\u2019ve taught me that things are never as bad as we tell ourselves they\u2019re going to be and worrying about things to come only strips our ability to appreciate what we have right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*They\u2019ve taught me that getting something for nothing never feels as good as getting something we\u2019ve worked hard for and sacrificed to be able to earn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*They\u2019ve taught me to trust God\u2019s plan for me and have faith that He is doing everything He can to help me become the very best me I can be if I\u2019ll just let Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*They\u2019ve taught me that true fulfilment doesn\u2019t stem from a list of accomplishments, it comes from the list of lives we\u2019ve impacted for the better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*They\u2019ve taught me that even though wrinkles on the outside don’t feel good, having your heart softened from the years of wisdom feels pretty darn great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m genuinely grateful for what the last 50 years have taught me. And I\u2019m also grateful for my friend who called to remind me that, \u201cPeople don\u2019t notice the age of a person’s face, they notice the age of a person\u2019s Spirit, and you, my friend, have an incredibly young Spirit!\u201d That was exactly the reminder I needed. So move over wrinkles cause you’ll never stop this 20 year-old Spirit from busting out her sweet 80s dance moves through this thing called life!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Look out “50” cause here I come \ud83d\ude42 !<\/p>\n\n\n\n
P.S. For my birthday I’m asking that people celebrate my big day with me by making a much needed donation to the Stella H. Oaks Foundation so together we can help single mothers afford to complete their education and achieve self-reliance. Here’s the link to make a donation https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/donate\/309157440981616\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n