Category: New Lessons I am Learning (Page 8 of 10)

Humility

October 17, 2017 / juliesc@pacbell.net / 0 Comments

The word humility used to scare me because I mistakenly thought it was a synonym of humiliation. I had become well-acquainted with humiliation in my childhood years, and I wanted no part of it in my adult years. This summer after reading a book I highly recommend called The Calvary Road, I decided I wanted to study the word humility so I began writing down pages of Bible verse that contained the word or the concept of humility and my observations from these verses, and I found that it was worlds apart from humiliation. Here are the two definitions, and then I will list more thoughts on humility based on the Bible verses.

Humiliation is a painful loss of pride, self-respect, or dignity or mortification.

Humility is freedom from pride and arrogance.

I learned that humility is considering others more significant than yourself. I like how C.S. Lewis phrased it, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” Humility is associated with gentleness and patience, and it even takes precedence over honor. Humility is rewarded by riches, honor, and life. It is a vital characteristic when serving the Lord, and we need to actively seek it. I can tell you from experience that it does NOT come naturally. We should put it on every day, just as we put on our clothing, and God will give grace, save, and exalt the humble. Humility is seeking God and trusting Him to lead us in what is right.

I’m thankful for the concept of humility and desire to live it out every day in my fifties.

This post is part of a 31 Day Blogging Challenge entitled Embracing Fifty. Please click here to find all the posts in this series. You can find the work of more bloggers participating in this series here. You’ll be glad you did!

Acceptance of Current Circumstances

October 16, 2017 / juliesc@pacbell.net / 0 Comments

We have a limited amount of time each day and free will on how to spend that time. We can waste it by pining away for the past, fretting about the future, or wishing away the life we have today.

Maybe our current life is not what we thought it would be. I never thought both my parents would die of cancer before I reached my 50th birthday, I would deal with so many health issues, or that my husband would lose his job, yet all those circumstances are a part of my everyday life. I can choose to allow the sadness and stress that these circumstances cause to keep me in denial and from moving forward in life, or I can accept those circumstances and trust that God will work them together for good.

I am confident that I will look back on this time in my life twenty years from now and see exactly how God used these parts of my life to grow me. When I do catch myself slipping into a funk, I try to apply the Serenity Prayer each day, “God, please grant me the serenity to accept the things I can’t change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.”

Hormonal Changes

October 15, 2017 / juliesc@pacbell.net / 0 Comments

Hormonal changes may seem like an odd choice for a list of what I want to embrace in my fifties, but I’m choosing to take the positive route. I’ve been in perimenopause for nearly ten years now, and I’m starting to notice some new and welcome developments. I have to shave my legs a lot less now. The acne that once plagued me has subsided. I’m not experiencing the constant concern whether I am pregnant. I have an excuse for being occasionally irrational. I love the feeling of a frozen washcloth on my neck during a hot flash. I feel like the world is wide open to me.

My mother started her menopause journey even earlier than I did and was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer when she was about ten years older than I am now. She was convinced that hormone replacement therapy had a causative effect on her cancer, and she insisted that I steer clear of that route. Even though I’d never heard of any correlation, I promised her that I would avoid this treatment if at all possible. I wish I would have asked her more about her symptoms and experience.

Hormonal changes are a common factor in all women’s lives, and it’s time to discuss them and celebrate them!

Lack of Control

October 13, 2017 / juliesc@pacbell.net / 0 Comments

I’ll admit that lack of control is a tough concept for me to embrace. I am a selfish and prideful woman and desire to be in charge. Yet when I do seize control, I make a mess of things. I need to accept that God had my life figured out before the foundation of the world, and His plans are infinitely better than my own.

I remember being in the throes of hard labor with my first child, attempting to breathe right and do everything according to my birth plan, and what was happening in real life looked nothing like what I had dreamed. I cried out to the nurse, “I feel so out of control,” and the nurse looked into my eyes and calmly replied, “Welcome to motherhood.”

I need to remember that even in the darkest days, God is trustworthy and is weaving each circumstance into a breathless tapestry. I only tend to look at the back side of his handiwork and see loose threads and wonder how that can be a thing of beauty. When I cease striving and allow God to have His way in my life, everything, while it may not be easy, goes so much better!

Words

October 12, 2017 / juliesc@pacbell.net / 1 Comment

Words have fascinated me for my entire life. My earliest memories are of my mother’s lullabies, playing school with my sister, and frequent visits to the public library. I learned to read before my third birthday and used reading as a means of comfort and escape during a difficult childhood. I would often repeat well-written words aloud, savoring the sounds of them as they rolled off my tongue. When I finished one book, I was lost until I had another one to read.

Words still play an enormous role in my life. I still can’t fall asleep unless I’ve read at least two pages. Now my love for words has branched into writing them as well. Over the years, I’ve learned the power that words hold. I observed my children wilting from my critical and caustic words and bloom with encouraging, uplifting words. A single harsh remark would undo hundreds of compliments. Every word that comes out of my mouth is a choice. I still struggle to keep every word positive, but I am choosing to use the words I love to inspire instead of destroy.

Remembering the Past with Stones of Remembrance

October 10, 2017 / juliesc@pacbell.net / 2 Comments

Life can be tricky as we try to determine the balance between our memories of the past, our present state, and our hope for the future. Each part is an important component of our life. For many years, I tried to forget or even deny the past because of many painful memories associated with those times in my life, but then I realized that every bit of my past, whether it brings joy or pain, contributed to who I am today. Even in the very hardest moments of my life, I can look back and see where God was guiding me, comforting me, and holding me up when I could not stand on my own.

When I look back and see the evidence of God’s faithfulness, I receive courage to confront each day and to face the future. God hasn’t ever once turned His back in me in almost 50 years of living, and I can be confident that he will accompany through every moment until I get to see Him face to face at the end of my life on earth.

Physical Limitations

October 9, 2017 / juliesc@pacbell.net / 10 Comments

I just can’t do as much as I once did. If I try to push myself too hard, I become dangerously tired and need to recuperate for days. I realize that cannot get through the day without relying on God. My own power will not be enough.

This might seem horrible to an outsider, but I choose to embrace it. It keeps me in relationship with my faithful God, allows me to slow down and savor life, and reminds me that at the end of my life I’ll be trading in this weak and limited “earth suit” for a new and perfect body that will last through eternity.

Mentoring Others

October 8, 2017 / juliesc@pacbell.net / 0 Comments

I have had the privilege of many mentors in my life. My parents were my first mentors, followed by my teachers, spiritual leaders, and friends who are a few steps ahead of me on the journey of womanhood. I would not be who I am without the time, energy, prayers, and help invested in me by each of these people.

The best return I can give others from their investment in me is to turn around and invest in others. I don’t have to know everything to be a mentor. In fact, it’s a relief to others to see that life is never without its struggles. God has had me go through a variety of experiences so I could mentor others on similar journeys. At this stage in my life, I am mentoring a group of moms at a mommy group at church, teaching preschoolers the joys of following Jesus, tutoring four third graders in reading at the local elementary school, encouraging others who have similar health conditions to my own, discipling a group of 2nd through 5th grade girls at church, and being an example to my own two children.

Mentoring others has brought me great joy, especially as I see those I taught go on to mentor others. Who are you being called to mentor today?

Wrinkles

October 7, 2017 / juliesc@pacbell.net / 2 Comments

I love to laugh. I love to be in the sunshine. I.m not a plastic surgery, Botox, or serum kind of gal, so the result as I approach fifty are some fine lines around the corners of my eyes and around my smile area that previously did not exist. I know I could research the best way to eradicate these from my face so I would appear years younger, but I’m proud of my wrinkles. I’ve earned every one of them through years of smiling and experience. It is a sign that I have enjoyed life and lived on the edge. My wrinkles seem to multiply as my body weight decreases. It shows a life well-lived. I don’t know how I’ll feel about them when I am 90, but for now I will enjoy my wrinkles!

Worship

October 4, 2017 / juliesc@pacbell.net / 2 Comments

When I focus on myself, my life doesn’t go as well. I vacillate between two extremes: thinking pridefully of myself and the way I am handling life or getting down on myself and my lack of having “figured life out” yet. The very best way to keep this from happening is to look upward and focus on worshiping the One who made me, the One who knows everything about me and still loves me anyway. I’ve heard that worship is showing somebody’s worth, and nobody is worthy of all that I am than God.

When I focus on His attributes and character, I can’t help but feel joy bubbling up within me. Worship takes many forms at my house. Sometimes it’s quietly listening to music. Sometimes it’s writing down what I love and appreciate about God that day….I could spend the rest of my life writing and still barely scratch the surface of His substance and all that He is to me. Sometimes it’s singing at the top of my lungs in my car. The common component is taking the focus off myself and focusing on lifting God up to the place He rightfully deserves in my life and this world.