My Last Te Years in Photos
If you had asked me at age 20 what I imagined my life would be like at age 30 my response could have varied, but it would have contained many of the same things: married, two children, a good and stable job, enjoying life. Minus the two kids, my life is pretty much everything I anticipated it to be.
Yesterday, I turned 30 years old. They refer to this as one of the "milestone" years. I would argue that 18 is probably the last "favorable" milestone age, because any milestone age after that has repercussions (bills, health issues, responsibilities, etc.). Nonetheless, I hit the milestone yesterday. By God's amazing grace, I have lived to be 30. He has made provisions for my life that have allowed me to live to the current day.
My mind had all kinds of thoughts yesterday, but mostly instead of dwelling on the fact that I was no longer in my 20's, I thought mostly again, about where I wanted to be in another ten years. Where do I want to be at 40? What do I want my life to consist of in another 10 years? Instead of the shallow goals and visions I would have recited at 20 years old, my vision was much different.
Where and what do I want my life to be in another ten years?
- I want to be married. Not for a second or third time, but to William. I want our marriage to be the strongest it has ever been. I want to be a woman after God's own heart that loves, cherishes, and appreciates her husband and is a helpmate to him. I want to be all that he needs and desires in a wife.
- I want to be a mother to two children, just as I said before (which means, I still have one more to go!). I do not want to just be an ordinary mother, but an extraordinary one. A mother who is respected and revered. A mother whom her children look to for guidance, knowledge, spiritual endeavors, and love. I want to instill in my children a love of God, a hope in Christ, and a yearning for a relationship with the Lord. If there is nothing else that they learn from me, I want it to be that they understand the eternal importance of having a relationship with Jesus Christ.
- I want a good and stable job. I want to go to work each day and feel a joy in knowing that I make a difference in my job. I'm not sure that I see myself working in elementary school in another ten years, but I know that I want to work in education and make a difference in the lives of children and adults. I want people I work with to feel and see my passion for teaching and learning. I want to instill a love of learning in each child I come into contact with and provide support to colleagues and cohorts that I am able to be a part of. More than that, I want Christ's light to shine through me and be visible to all who may cross my path. I pray that they will see Christ in me, and I will be better at my job because of it.
- I want to enjoy life. Actually, no, I do not want to just enjoy it. I want to savor each second of every day. I want to relish in the little joys and the little victories each day has to offer. I want to overcome the negative, the hardships, the pitfalls, and keep climbing to the top of the mountain. I want to shield my heart against the thief of joy and arm myself with the armor of God, so that I may live and have joy.
In addition to those revisions to my previous list:
- I want to feel my worth. I want to know that my Lord created something good in me and believe that I am enough, even when I feel that I am not.
If you had asked me at age 20 what I imagined my life would be like at age 30 my response could have varied, but it would have contained many of the same things: married, two children, a good and stable job, enjoying life. Minus the two kids, my life is pretty much everything I anticipated it to be.
Yesterday, I turned 30 years old. They refer to this as one of the "milestone" years. I would argue that 18 is probably the last "favorable" milestone age, because any milestone age after that has repercussions (bills, health issues, responsibilities, etc.). Nonetheless, I hit the milestone yesterday. By God's amazing grace, I have lived to be 30. He has made provisions for my life that have allowed me to live to the current day.
My mind had all kinds of thoughts yesterday, but mostly instead of dwelling on the fact that I was no longer in my 20's, I thought mostly again, about where I wanted to be in another ten years. Where do I want to be at 40? What do I want my life to consist of in another 10 years? Instead of the shallow goals and visions I would have recited at 20 years old, my vision was much different.
Where and what do I want my life to be in another ten years?
- I want to be married. Not for a second or third time, but to William. I want our marriage to be the strongest it has ever been. I want to be a woman after God's own heart that loves, cherishes, and appreciates her husband and is a helpmate to him. I want to be all that he needs and desires in a wife.
- I want to be a mother to two children, just as I said before (which means, I still have one more to go!). I do not want to just be an ordinary mother, but an extraordinary one. A mother who is respected and revered. A mother whom her children look to for guidance, knowledge, spiritual endeavors, and love. I want to instill in my children a love of God, a hope in Christ, and a yearning for a relationship with the Lord. If there is nothing else that they learn from me, I want it to be that they understand the eternal importance of having a relationship with Jesus Christ.
- I want a good and stable job. I want to go to work each day and feel a joy in knowing that I make a difference in my job. I'm not sure that I see myself working in elementary school in another ten years, but I know that I want to work in education and make a difference in the lives of children and adults. I want people I work with to feel and see my passion for teaching and learning. I want to instill a love of learning in each child I come into contact with and provide support to colleagues and cohorts that I am able to be a part of. More than that, I want Christ's light to shine through me and be visible to all who may cross my path. I pray that they will see Christ in me, and I will be better at my job because of it.
- I want to enjoy life. Actually, no, I do not want to just enjoy it. I want to savor each second of every day. I want to relish in the little joys and the little victories each day has to offer. I want to overcome the negative, the hardships, the pitfalls, and keep climbing to the top of the mountain. I want to shield my heart against the thief of joy and arm myself with the armor of God, so that I may live and have joy.
In addition to those revisions to my previous list:
- I want to feel my worth. I want to know that my Lord created something good in me and believe that I am enough, even when I feel that I am not.
- I want to live my life for Christ. I want to be brave and bold in my beliefs and never sway on the principles in which my life was created and formed. In ten years, I want to look back and see my growth as a child of the king.
- And lastly, I want to use every opportunity, path, and door that the Lord places in front of me. I want to share my faith with others, my testimony with all who will listen, and the plan of eternal salvation with all who may need to hear it. I want my life to be one that I am proud of not here on Earth, but in heaven one day. I want to please the Lord in every thought, word and deed.
And now....I think I have some work to do!