28 Life Lessons I Have Learned Through 28 Years of Life.

Today is my 28th birthday and I took the time to write 28 life lessons that I have learned through 28 years of life. Thank You Jesus for granting me another year!

1. Purpose

Purpose will never be fulfilled if selfish ambition drives it. Each purposeful season is most meaningful with God in the center of it all.

2. Peace

Where there is no true peace; the heart remains weary, worried, and anxious. To walk in peace it is important to identify each thing that brings chaos and dysfunction in life. Peace is accessible to everyone.

3. Identity

Knowing who you truly are is one of the most important things in this life.

4. Peer Pressure

When pressure comes in life; watch the company you keep. Some things can be avoidable simply by the people you surround yourself with.

5. Friendship

• Friendships evolve, change, and grow. It takes intentionality to build trust and wisdom to hold key friendships together. Permit people to move on without holding a grudge for growing apart. If you have been a bad friend, don’t make the mistake of being one over and over again to others.

6. Dating

• Every relationship won’t be the end goal and the end goal won’t always be the complete goal. Choose wisely so you don’t waste time.

7.  Marriage

• A great marriage is built on love, trust, forgiveness, sacrifice, selflessness, prayer, love, and solid faith.

8. Singleness

• Singleness is not a curse. God gave singles the ability to build a fruitful life and enjoy it even if there is a desire to be married one day.

9. Prayer

• Prayer is an essential part of life that keeps the heart steady when it is weighed down. A prayerless life is often a fruitless life. Pray as often as you can.

10. Comparison

• The more you confidently walk in the person God truly created you to be; you stop comparing less and start fully embracing the life given.

11. Patience

• Patience will show you that you don’t always get what you want when you want it. There are lessons to be learned in the waiting stages of life. It develops endurance and character.

12. Wisdom

• The beauty of godly wisdom keeps one out of danger. Wisdom is a necessary thing to have throughout life.

13. Joy

• Choosing joy takes practice. Joy is something every individual has the opportunity to wear each morning.

14. Rest

• To operate in a state of rest makes one more appreciative and attentive to the details of life that matter most. True rest is the momentum one needs to grow a healthy life. Burnout is a distraction that deters one from rest.

15. Pain

• Pain is an uncomfortable thing to experience, however, pain shapes you to endure the trials of life and build true character. Each painful moment equips you to endure with diligence.

16. Mistakes

• Learn from previous mistakes the first time so you don’t have to keep repeating them.

17. Family

• Families can either grow together or stay broken together. Trust and love can be built through understanding, open communication, and true forgiveness.

18. Finances

• Finances don’t make people fall or fail. Greed does. The way money is stewarded matters.

19. Faith

• Walking by faith and not by sight is truly a thing that sustains a purpose-filled life. You don’t have to know everything to have faith in all things.

20. Feelings

• Feelings do come and go. Feelings can sometimes be inconsistent. Consider others above yourself. Whether feelings of pain or joy; you reap from the decisions you make from it.

21. Motives

• Your motives can either be uplifting or damaging to others. Allow God to weigh your heart before making decisions that affect others around you.

22. Habits

• The habits you develop during life will stick with you until you notice the ones you must break.

23. Isolation

• Unhealthy isolation can keep a person vulnerable. Isolation caused by heartache can make one shut out the world. Sometimes making decisions in isolation isn’t the best thing without proper counsel and support.

24. Losing

• Losing your status is less important than losing your character. Always stick with integrity no matter the outcome.

25. Assumptions

• Never make assumptions about a person’s life by what they share. The consistency of a person's character over time says a lot about who they are; including your own.

26. Integrity

• Always walk in integrity and humble yourself under God. Pride has never remained a good friend to anyone. Do well by others and confess where you have been wrong.

27. Burdens

• Carrying burdens that weren’t meant for one to carry can bring guilt, shame, and fatigue to the heart. Remember you don’t have to carry heavy burdens alone.

28. Gratitude

• Always remain thankful even when life is chaotic. There is always something to hold gratitude about; it takes the focus off uncontrollable circumstances.

 "Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing." James 1:12