23 Things I Have Learned in 23 Years

Yesterday was my 23rd birthday, and I thought it would be neat to share 23 things I have learned in my 23 years of life 🙂 This list is not in any particular order and I apologize that it is a little longer than I anticipated it to be, but thank you for reading!

1. God is so good, all of the time – He has been better than good to me!
2. Sometimes we can be too hard on ourselves and expect perfection, but it is important to show ourselves grace – We should strive for perfection, but if we beat ourselves up constantly when we fail to meet high expectations, then we will never grow.
3. Treat others the way you want to be treated – Many of us may have learned this in school as the Golden Rule, but Jesus taught this in Matthew 7: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.”
4. In the words of C.T. Studd, “Only one life,’ twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.” – This poem has greatly blessed my life, and it is something I try to keep in mind. I have a stanza of it posted on my wall to remind myself everyday.
5. Time flies by, take pictures! – Well I believe it is important to live in the moment, I have also learned to take lots of pictures. Over the last year I have taken more photos than ever. Besides our memories, our photos are the only things we have to remember a special moment.
6. Appreciate everything, even the things we think are small– As I have gotten older, and experienced living on my own, I have learned to appreciate more than ever the things I once took for granted. Like having dinner made when getting home from work/school for example lol. Or playing board games with your family. Or enjoying those long talks with your parents. The list can go on, but these are just a few of the things I have learned to appreciate since living on my own.
7. Pray for your Pastor and his family – Over the years I have been blessed to learn more about my pastor and pastor’s wife. I am so thankful for them, and I know if it was not for their prayers and for God’s mercy I would not be here today. But sometimes we do not realize the burdens they carry. We do not see the hours they spend in prayer on behalf of our souls. We do not see our pastor working full-time, while also being a husband, and a father, as well as the times he ministers to the saints. They have many roles, and they are human beings just like everyone else. They need God’s strength just as much as we all do.
8. Try to see the potential in every person – This may sound cheesy, but I pray that when I meet someone, I see the potential in them that God sees. It can be easy to overlook someone, or even ourselves, when we see flaws. But we are all a work in progress, and the Bible even says in 1 Samuel 16:7, that man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart.
9. Live at home as long as you can – I realize this one may sound strange, and that not everyone’s home situation may allow for this, but it is something I have personally shared with some of the youth. If you can stay at home during college, use it as a time to grow, to save financially, and to prepare for adulthood.
10. Covid may have caused a lot of damage, but it was also a time of growth – While I am not insensitive to the effects of Covid, I have also learned that that time was a blessing for many, including myself. 2020 especially was a time of reflection and growth.
11. Read your Bible! – Love it. Learn it. Live it.
12. Everyone has different talents – This means that others may be good at things that we are not, and that is okay. It is important to encourage, and not to be envious of others talents/abilities.
13. To travel and visit new places – Although Covid made this a lot more difficult, over the last couple of years I have been able to travel to some new places. Not nearly as many as I would like, but there are many places I would like to visit. God created a beautiful Earth, and although it is just temporal, I would like to see as much as I can.
14. God is faithful! – This is one of my favorite words to describe God. I have seen His faithfulness throughout my life and I am so incredibly thankful for it.
15. Adventures in Odyssey is not just for kids (lol) – I did not begin listening to AIO until 2020 during the pandemic. A family in the church was nice enough to add me onto their account during quarantine and since then I have listened to 57 albums in order from the very first episode. I still have a few albums to go before I am all caught up, but I have enjoyed listening to it, and it is exciting when I understand an AIO reference 😛
16. Love the field you are in – This has been a big lesson for me. We all have dreams and desires of things we would like to do or accomplish for God. But sometimes those dreams do not always line up with God’s will for our lives. And it is then that we need to pray for God to give us His dreams/visions for our lives because He knows best. I have learned to love the field God has placed me in. I have learned to love where God has me, and there have been many times God has shown me that I am exactly where I need to be. God has placed each of us in different places in the world. He has placed us in certain fields, and while He may call some to foreign lands, He has called us to love the field we are in. It can be easy to look around and desire a field someone else is in, but He has placed each of us in a specific field, and we need to love that field and labor in the field He has called us to.
17. Do not stress, God is in control – Enough said there.
18. Read new books – I love to read, and during 2020 I nearly doubled my reading library. I also am compiling a list of books to include on the blog, if you have any suggestions please comment down below.
19. Do not underestimate the power in prayer – Maybe some of you have heard it said before. Someone we know is going through a trial or experiencing a sickness, and they tell us that all we can do is pray. But praying is the best thing we can do. Prayer should not be considered a last resort. There is power in prayer, as we read in the many accounts of prayer in the Bible. Prayer can save a loved one, prayer can heal the diseased, prayer can break the chains that bind, prayer can move mountains.
20. There is no perfect situation – I have heard it said by my pastor many times, and I have learned it to be true. In life we will encounter many different things, but it is important that we continue trusting and leaning on God. No situation is too difficult for Him.
21. We are never alone – God reminds us multiple times in His Word that we are not alone (Here are a few examples: Matthew 28:20, Isaiah 41:10, Genesis 28:15). God is always with us, He is always rooting for us, and He has blessed us all with a wonderful church family who is there for us too.
22. There is no place I would rather be than in His presence – “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.” – Psalm 27:4. I am not putting this down to make myself appear super spiritual, but I have learned that my favorite place to be is in His presence.
23. That I have so much more to learn – I have learned that there is still so much for me to learn. I have seen how important it is to have a teachable heart.

Thank you so much for reading! This was an honest list of some things I have learned in my life so far, and I just thought it would be neat to share them. God bless you! 🙂