Lessons from childhood.

Childhood is an amazing thing. During a person's childhood, they learn about the world, they discover new things every day, and experience things that can set up who they will be for the rest of their life. Sometimes we are lucky enough to meet people during this period of life that will walk with us through everything that comes after. Over the course of these years, there are a million things that happen, and a thousand events that occur. Many of them fail to touch us with their significance.

As sacred as innocence is, I wish there were some things that we didn't have to wait until we're older to realize.

1. The value of childhood.
If I got paid every time I heard someone say in high school or college that they wish they had nap time built into the schedule again, I would never have to work a day in my life. When you're a kid though, you're more worried about playing with whatever toys are in the room that you're being required to sleep in than actually getting any sleep. You don't realize how quickly your childhood is passing, and you have no idea how much you will want to get pieces of it back when you're older.

2. The importance of family.
I have been on this earth for almost 20 years now, and for several of those in the in between years, I didn't realize how important my family was. I have always loved my family deeply, but I can remember many days that were wasted by fighting with my brothers and being upset that something didn't go the way I wanted it to. I remember family trips where we were all furious in the backseats. And now that I live apart from my brothers, I wish more than anything that those times had been different. I wish we could have appreciated those times that we were all together with no state lines in between us. Not a day goes by that I am apart from my brothers that I don't miss them completely, and that I wish I had known during those years how special they were.
The same goes with my grandparents. With my dad's mom especially, she died when I was only twelve. At twelve years old, I hadn't ever considered that my grandparents would be going anywhere any time soon. And because of that, there are so many things I wish I could have asked her, things I wish I had known about her, experiences I wish we could have shared. But I was only a kid, and I didn't know that those opportunities wouldn't come. Losing all three of my grandparents now, and living without any for almost 2 years now has helped to teach me the frailty of human life, and not to take time for granted with those that we love. If only I had known then.

3. Save, don't spend.
One thing that I wish I had learned before now is to save my money! In our family that was encouraged, but it was never mandatory. As long as I've tithed money that I get, I usually didn't worry about any of the rest of it. And thankfully, it hasn't hurt me that badly, since college has been covered by scholarships and my parents have graciously bought things for me, like my car, that I would never have been able to afford on my own. But now as I am starting to save money for the future, I wish I hadn't thrown away so much money over the years on silly impulsive purchases. This is something I will try my hardest to teach my kids when I have them.

4. Count your blessings.
There's that song, "Count your blessings name them one by one, count your blessings, see what God has done..." I know that it's hard to realize just how much you have when your entire world is built around your family and school life, but I think that many things go unappreciated as children. First of all, there are so many kids walking around in brand names that even I can't afford. I mean, really? Honestly guys, I love kids but they are messy and pretty gross at times. And unless you never allow your child to do anything active or creative, those clothes are going to get ruined. Seriously, why would you spend that much on a child's clothes?! It might make you feel better for them to look nice (for an hour or two before they ruin it), but they definitely don't care that they are wearing Ralph Lauren right now. But, I digress. The point here is, it is easy to overlook how blessed we are. When I was younger, I didn't realize that not everyone had parents that loved me as much as mine did. I didn't know that there were other kids who lived in less than suitable living conditions. I didn't understand that I was richly blessed, just by having my basic needs met both emotionally and physically. This isn't a point that I wish we only realized in childhood, but something that we constantly work to realize.

5. Hard work is hard, but so worth it.
When I was a kid, I was kind of a quitter.
Some examples:
I played piano for two years (quit to play flute in the band),
flute for one year (quit because I moved),
I played baseball for a year, (Joined because both my brothers played, and I wanted to be like them...and have the cool outfit. Then, quit because I wasn't very good, to be honest. I was in 1st grade...)
I cheerleaded for a year. (Quit because I didn't like practicing so much. Honestly, people, that was my excuse! Oh, younger me.)
I played basketball for four years (getting better...).
Obviously, I didn't stick to many things that I started. And these are just major examples. While I appreciate that my parents let us do things we were interested in and didn't force us to do things we didn't want to, I now realize that a little force might have been good for me. I wish now that I had stuck to some of these things, mainly the piano and some sports activity, and put in the time to get good at them. The things that are harder to do are always more rewarding because of the time you put into them. The greatest accomplishments come from the greatest challenges. And I realize now that I probably missed out on some things back then because of it.

Childhood is a time when we learn about the world around us, and as I've gotten older, I really wish I had been able to know how important these things would be down the road. But, life is a journey and if we knew everything at the beginning, I guess we wouldn't be able to learn as much as we go, right?

These are just a few of the things I wish I had known about then that have impacted how my life is now. What would you add to this list? What are things that you wish you had known/realized when you were a kid? I'd love to hear from you.

The potential of a year.

At the beginning of things, everything always feels so promising. At the beginning of a life, at the beginning of a marriage, a friendship, a year, a new job, college, whatever. It's always exciting not to know exactly what all is going to happen, and to dream about where the story is going to lead.

Right now in my story, I am entering my second year of college, and even as I type that I can't believe it. But I moved in yesterday and classes start tomorrow, and I just love that feeling of newness. I love not knowing who all I'm going to meet this year, and not knowing how my classes are going to be yet, and just not knowing what all God is going to do. It's all very exciting. I have a brand new roommate (who I love so far), and same room (some things should just be the same for comfort's sake ;) ) so this year feels like it's gonna be a great one!

As promising and as full of potential this year feels, I don't want to get caught up in little things day to day and miss out on making it a year that really stands out and counts for something. I don't want to get so focused on school and things that I miss opportunities to get involved with those around me and build relationships, because to me, that is the absolute priority in my life. After our relationship with Jesus, relationships with those around us are so important and special, and I feel like this year brings new chances to build strong ones and experience people in new ways.

It'll be interesting to look back at the end of this school year in May and see what all God has done. But for now, I can only look forward to starting classes tomorrow and getting started down whatever roads God is going to lead me down in the next few months!

To God be the glory.