Top 3 Lessons

I'm just going to come right out and say it. This year for Will and I, was really, really, really hard. We struggled a lot with many different things. This was also hands down the most stressful year of my whopping 20 years of life thus far as well. Between a wedding, working two jobs, school full time, my husband being gone most of the summer, then losing his job, then the whole vicious cycle beginning again - it was really hard to see light at the end of the tunnel.

I could go on and try to convince you how hard my life is and how I battled depression on and off and how disappointed I am in myself, but that's not how Scripture tells us to deal with things.

"Consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." James 1:2-3

When I look at this past year through a scope of growth I see that I have grown tremendously in many areas. I am a list person so here is a list of the top 3 things this year has taught me:

1. DON'T QUIT. I live in a generation of quitters. School is really hard and you don't see the point? Dropout. Your job is really stressful and annoying but you love it at the same time? Oh just quit and find work somewhere else. You picked up a new hobby and realized how hard and expensive it will be but it brings you joy? Oh just drop it and find something else. All these choices are poor and made on emotional thinking. I realized I quit several things this year because they got really hard and I regretted it every time. Like my mom always tells me: "When the going gets tough, the tough get going!"

2.  MONEY AND THINGS ARE NOT IMPORTANT. No! They really are not! American newsflash! When I first got married my focus was on the wrong things. I thought people would gauge the health of Will and I's marriage by how cute our apartment was, how gourmet all my dinners were that I slaved over every night of the week, or how many fun dates we went on that we lavishly would splash across social media. And oh my goodness is that wrong. I married a man who loves me the same even if he doesn't have any clean shirts to wear the next day to work because I was too tired or didn't have time that week for laundry. He loves me the same if we eat Top Ramen 3 nights in a row because I had school from 8-3 then work 4-9 for the past 3 days. The older I get the more I realize I care very little of what the world thinks and more and more of what God thinks and sees in my heart.

3. PEOPLE AND TIME ARE IMPORTANT. I spent so much of my time working this year and yes, the money was nice. The extra cushion financially was great, but it was soooooo not worth being tired, stressed and burnt out all the time. I missed my friends, greatly missed my family and I missed my husband. Time with people is important. Money is easy to obtain, but time with friends and family is so valuable and we need to cherish that. Taking every opportunity we can to reach out to them and growing deep, rooted relationships with them. The way we spend a majority of our free time shows where our heart is. For me, that was work. My heart was in the wrong place and I'm glad to have it shifted to the right place again. :)

I know some of you are thinking, "Well clearly Lorna I learned these lessons in middle school!" or, "Duh, these are super obvious things about life" and that's nice. Hey, I'm still only 20 and I have a long ways to go. I'm just thankful I have Jesus holding my hand walking side by side with me every day to help pick me back up when I fall down.