1. Kindness matters.
I will forever contend that being kind will bring more happiness and peace to both the giver and the receiver than indifference and pettiness. Kindness welcomes. Indifference alienates. I have had the opportunity to experience both ends of the spectrum over the past few years and can testify that when I am kind, I feel better. When others are kind to me, I in turn pass kindness along. Being mean is just....well....MEAN. It leaves a feeling of emptiness that nothing can fill except a return to kindness. This world NEEDS more kindness, more compassion, and more mercy. I want to be one to promote that.
2. Putting God first is always right.
I am finding this to be true the older I get. My life gets harried and crazy and when I forget Him, forget my True Purpose here on earth...I seem to fall apart. It's only when I take time to put Him first, to feed my soul, to pay attention to those I will be with forever that clarity, peace and calm seep back in to make the crazy go away.
3. True friendship lasts.
Life has thrown a few curves at me in the not-so-distant past and as a result, I became a little bitter and turned away from people that I cared about. I made assumptions which lead to judgement and I broke ties without any explanation as to why I was doing so. It was only a few months ago, when I was the recipient of the same kind of estrangement that I realized that I was wrong for my petty actions of a couple of years ago. I didn't understand why someone I had grown close to and cared about very much would just suddenly ignore me and not tell me what I had done to offend them. When I realized I had done the VERY SAME THING, it was though a ton of bricks had fallen on me. I knew I needed to ask forgiveness for my stupidity and rash behavior. The beautiful thing is that when I apologized, the person didn't treat me poorly (as I had done to them), and welcomed me back with no questions asked. This is true friendship and I'm so grateful for the power of forgiveness and the opportunity of second chances. This is one friend I intend to keep forever.
4. My tribe has not changed.
I have finally come to the conclusion that I know who my tribe is. It's taken a few years and it was only recently that I was able to put it into words. My tribe consists of hard-working people who love God and are focused on serving Him and not on the fluffy things in life. My tribe is more about eternal content and less on what this world offers. My tribe focuses on inclusion of every person, and not who fits in. These are my people.
5. The best things in life come from hard work.
There is no way around this one. Hard work is what got me my bachelors degree and nursing license. Being married to my husband for 22 years has taken hard work. Raising children takes hard work. Being a nurse is hard work. But all of these things are worth every struggle, every tear shed, every sleepless night, every gray hair because they shape who I am and how I can be God's hands here on earth. If all of these things were easy, everyone could (and would!) do them. But it's not. I have learned to hunker down at times and just push through and rely on God to make up where I lack (see #2 above). Every success I have every had I will always attribute to God's merciful help and hard work.
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