Lately, I’ve been seeing that the people I have in my life are there for a reason. Sometimes, we are called to stop thinking only about the future, and slow down long enough to look around us. Learn from the present. There is so much beauty to be unwrapped now, and I’m afraid of missing it. I don’t want to be so caught up in planning my life that I forget to live it too.
As I sat down with one of my biggest role models, and now a sweet friend, we talked about life. We figured some things out. We don’t have all the answers, but as time goes on, I’m learning that we aren’t supposed have it all figured out. However, that night, some things were said that have been playing in my mind on repeat, and I don’t want to forget them.
1) “People aren’t things, and we can’t keep them.” They just aren’t. Too often, I think, “That is my person. These are my people.” But life doesn’t work that way. As much as I may hate it, people are going to move on, grow, and do new things. Even when it hurts, we must let them go. Let them run. They were never ours to keep.
2) Not everybody wants to do big things. The things that rattle my bones and burn in my heart may not have those effects on the people around me. That’s so okay. They don’t have to understand. But never, ever, ever give them the freedom to tell you that your dreams are too big. Too far fetched. Too optimistic. Don’t give people that power over you.
3) You can’t make yourself love somebody. If you don’t love them, don’t stay in that relationship. It wastes your time and theirs. It is loving them better to let them go if your heart is not in it too. That’s okay. You are not any less of a person. When you’re young, you love and you learn. Learning is half the battle. Have that courage.
4) We don’t need to have the end of our stories written. We are called to walk in faith one step at a time. God knows the whole story. I don’t. He is God. I’m not. His story for my life is infinitely better than anything I could write. When we are able to stop thinking so much and let go of control, freedom will resound.
5) “You can’t be everything to everybody.” It’s the truth. Living a life trying to be all the things is exhausting, and it just does not work. If we switch our focus from being everything to everyone, to being something to a few, so many blessings will come as a result. It’s a hard truth to live, especially for the ones of us who long to be seen and known, but it is necessary to remember and live. “You can’t be all the things.”
6) We weren’t meant to live in comfort. We are satisfied all too easily. There is such a big world out there, and so many lives are awaiting light and life. It is so easy to wait for God in the comfort of the best and just get enough to sustain us for a day. What a waste. Our mindset should shift from only wanting enough to always wanting more. We should want to dig deeper. We need to take the faith leaps in order to see the ways that God will provide somewhere between the nest and the ground. He wants us to fly with Him.
*Inspired by Hannah Brencher… Go check her out because she is full of truth and life. Her heart for God and people is unreal.*