Cheers to 30 Years

Have you entered a new decade of life and thought back to how much you’ve grown? Reflecting on our past brings to mind many vital lessons in life. Some lessons are a lot bigger than others… Like when you lose a loved one. You realize how short life really is. You learn how every moment of our day matters and should be lived with intention.

Then, there are short life lessons that pack a huge punch; lessons like the importance of sitting in silence when a friend is in pain. I look back over the last decade and am in awe at how much has changed… will any future decade change as much as my twenties?

So, cheers to 30, and hopefully many more years to come. Enjoy these real-life inspirational stories and short life lessons.

Inspirational Life Lessons

Short life lesson quotes that we should all live by.

The more you grow, the more you realize you don’t know.
We have been given one life to live. We should live it with intention.
The more you try to control life, the more you realize you aren’t in control.
Our testimony can be used to encourage those who follow in our footsteps in the same way our mentors continue to inspire us.

What I’ve Learned About Marriage

Each of these real-life lessons has played an essential role in my marriage. Our marriage isn’t perfect, but we strive to honor our vows to each other until death do us part.

Marriage is not 50:50. Instead, marriage is giving your whole self. It is 100:100. Unfortunately, we live in a broken world, where we may find ourselves in a relationship in which one partner gives more than the other. When this happens, problems arise. We start to feel bitter and frustrated and begin to withhold parts of ourselves. Yet, this is what it means to love others… to serve even when we don’t want to.
Compromising in marriage never works out; instead, we should replace compromise with a servant's heart.
Love is more than feelings, love is an action, a choice. It is rooted in something deeper than our ever-changing, flippant feelings.

4 Tips For When You Don't Feel Like Loving Your Spouse

Why You Should Never Compromise in Marriage

Things You Learn When You Become a Mom

We will never be ready for parenthood.
Grumpy mom is normal… it happens to the best of us. What is most important is how we respond afterward. Our kids will learn more from our humility and asking for forgiveness than they will from our lectures or punishments.
Our greatest contribution to the kingdom might not be something we do, but someone we raise - Andy Stanley.
Having kids will show us all the areas we are weakest and fall short (like patience…).

Encouragement to the Mother Filled With Guilt

Why I Left my Well-Paying Job to Stay at Home

Personal Growth and Development

Every day should provide you with lessons learned, lessons to grow you and challenge you and push you towards wherever God is calling you.

Courage is being afraid, but doing it anyway.
Progress is the goal, not perfection.
Life is about the journey, not the destination.
We have unique gifts, some more than others. Just because someone has more gifts doesn’t mean they are more valuable.
Our identity is not tied to what we do, our weight, our beauty, etc.…
Be content with where you are at because one day, you will look back with envy.
Being a certain weight won’t make you happy long term.
Emotions are not a bad thing.

How Physical Fitness & Self-Worth Affected My Relationships

Friendship Advice / Relationship Advice

Some friendships are for a reason, a season, or for a lifetime.
Vulnerability breeds vulnerability. If we want to grow closer to others, then we need to go first. Open up, and others will follow (obviously carefully choosing who we are vulnerable with).
Sometimes the best thing you can do is listen and remain silent.
Comparison is the thief of all joy.
Forgiveness does more for you than for them.
We can have a great childhood but still have traumatic experiences to work through. Sometimes, there may be guilt and shame with admitting we were scarred by something in our past. Having traumatic experiences isn’t always a reflection of your parents.

Related:

Vulnerability of Confession

Friendship: For a Reason, Season, or a Lifetime

Grow in Faith and Knowledge

We can’t judge non-Christians by Christian standards. Think about it; to be a non-christian means they don’t hold the same moral standards. They don’t know and believe in God’s law. So, although they are still guilty in the eyes of the lord, it is not our place to judge them, at least not in the ways we would fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
We are not the Holy Spirit. We cannot convict others to change. We can’t force them into faith. Instead, we can pray for the Holy Spirit to move in their lives (whether it’s our children or our spouses).
One day, we will walk among a New Earth, and there will be no childhood cancers. No racism, no sex trafficking, no diseases, or murders, etc..…. This one hit me in the midst of this pandemic. Heaven is not this mystical place with floating spirits. Can you imagine life after death, walking in the New Heavens and Earth? This revelation left me in awe.
God will answer your prayers, just not in the way you may think.
There is a verse in the Bible that says you can be a slave to sin or a slave to God. And for the longest time, I didn't understand why I would want to be a slave at all. But one day, I finally had an aha moment. When you are a slave to sin, you have no choice to do good. You don’t know any better. BUT when you find God and accept Him, you are broken free from the bondage of sin. This doesn’t mean you will never sin/do bad things, but that there is freedom when we become slaves to Christ.

“Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” Romans 6:16

Related:

Blessings in the Midst of Trials

How to Have Faith in a Scary World

The Evolution of Faith: How Accepting God Changed Me

No matter how old we get, we should always strive to grow and learn from our experiences. Reflecting on the past helps us do that. So, what have you learned in the last few years? Share below!