There are so many things yet to be learned. There are so many experiences yet to realize. There are so many dreams still unfulfilled that I cannot stop now! In my fifth decade of life I’ve learned more lessons that I ever thought possible. I’ve distilled the lengthy list down to five for the sake of this article. I may publish a few more, but here is a stab at five lessons learned in my 50’s!
-
-
- Whatever you think you know with certainty, be willing to challenge that certainty. There are so many things that a limited mind never attempts to learn, unlearn or relearn. Of all this things that I have been certain about, only one has remained constant, and even that has radically changed by degree. I am certain of God’s enduring love for me in spite of the many times I have doubted Him. Everything else has cause me to pause and reflect on fresh and often brand new understandings.
- About the time that you think you are getting too old to experience something new, that is precisely when you should learn and experience it. You haven’t survived all that you experienced to this point to play it safe! Go ahead and live…You’ve earned it. And, by the way, if there are folks your age that are laughing at you, well, that’s because they haven’t the courage to join you!
- Peace is the single greatest commodity in the universe. Peace is greater than money, fame, power or praise. Peace in every facet of life is life at it’s greatest. I’ve spent many years longing and striving to accomplish something and yet the one thing that I promised God that I would never do has brought me to the most frustratingly peace-filled work of my life. Don’t seek after fake-peace, when the Prince of Peace wants to drop truckloads of it onto your life.
- Whatever the Divine has plopped down in your soul may very well be there waiting for you to have the courage to release it into this world. It might be a book, a song, a dream, a business, a ministry, who knows. But this I know, If He placed it there, it’s rarely there just for you!
- Don’t let your frustrations with the ridiculous things in this world rob you of all the wonderful things that exist. I spent way too many years angry with the assumed stupidity in the universe to only realize that I was the one that saw it and assumed it – and then threw my anger and angst at it. I would get worked up into a frenzy over the silliest of things, only to realize that I had been about to have a heart attack by choice. Anyway you look at that, it’s truly idiotic. I admit, it’s been me and my challenge all along.
The beauty of my 59 years of life is that I’ve never been more fully alive or more hungry to learn. I cannot wait to share what I’ve learned in my 60’s.
- Whatever you think you know with certainty, be willing to challenge that certainty. There are so many things that a limited mind never attempts to learn, unlearn or relearn. Of all this things that I have been certain about, only one has remained constant, and even that has radically changed by degree. I am certain of God’s enduring love for me in spite of the many times I have doubted Him. Everything else has cause me to pause and reflect on fresh and often brand new understandings.
-
GO in PEACE, AChuck
