40 Lessons I Learned By 40

Hey! So I’m still a couple years away from 40… However as the day rapidly approaches… I find that there are so many lessons that I have learned. This has been quite a reflective time for me… Statistics say that my life is nearly half over, should the Lord delay His second coming… If He does, I want the second half of my life to reflect the lessons learned in the first half. Not a repeat.

The list below may surely be updated by the time I actually turn 40. However, where I stand, now, these are the most important lessons I’ve learned:

1. It’s okay to start over

2. Be with the person who will listen to you

3. There will be just as many tears as laughter

4. The sun will rise in the morning

5. Don’t go to bed angry

6. Jesus is the only way

7. If you aren’t facing in the same direction, you aren’t walking together

8. God is love and He loves me and you

9. Insecurities stem from unhealed places within ourselves

10. Slow down

11. Time passes quickly

12. Tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone

13. Life is short

14. Even when I can’t, God can

15. Some people come into your life as a lesson, some are unexpected blessings

16. You can’t know love without knowing God

17. Not everyone that enters your life is meant to stay

18. What’s in your heart definitely comes out of your mouth and in your behavior

19. You are what you consume (so be careful little eyes what you see, be careful little ears what you hear, and be careful little mouth what you say and eat)

20. Being in love with someone is not butterflies… that’s anxiety

21. Learn how to thank God in advance for the joy He is restoring while you’re in the desert.

22. A true relationship with God supercedes religion

24. There is no need to defend myself, truth will prevail in the end

23. I don’t need the last word

25. God is so detailed that no two people are the same, no two leaves, grains of sand, blades of grass, etc…

26. When we consider that we are made in the image of God and He looked at us and said, “(S)He is good.” We understand that we are beautiful. And God didn’t make any mistakes. So why alter His exquisite creation?

27. Forgiving someone, 70×7, means walking in forgiveness and love.. not keeping record of wrongs.. (1 Corinthians 13:5b)

28. “No” is a sentence and a perfectly acceptable answer

29. Saying “no” to someone, then watching their reaction often tells you how they really feel about you much more than words. On the contrary, after hearing “no” from someone, pay attention to your own reaction…it will also tell you how you truly feel about them

30. Even the youngest of humans have feelings: Handle everyone with care

31. It’s better to listen. Not to respond, but to understand

32. A kind word, a smile, a nice gesture go a long way…

33. Invisible wounds are much harder to heal

34. There’s no such thing as “karma” rather “time and chance happens to us all” Ecclesiastes 9:11

35. It’s hard to stay angry with someone you pray for.. That’s why Jesus taught us to: …Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Matthew 5:44‭-‬45 KJV

36. We really do teach others how to love us, or not love us… Depending on how we feel about ourselves. Sometimes we’ll accept fake love/ abusive love in exchange for the life giving love of God.

37. When we go to God for a specific thing (our way) sometimes we end up disappointed. But when we seek first the kingdom of God and all His righteous and we find God, not only are we filled with immense satisfaction, but He also adds all those other desires of our hearts to us.

38. The most freeing thing I ever did is to stop holding others to my own expectations. In turn, sparing them and me, from feelings of dissatisfaction, anger, hurt, and unfulfillment

39. It’s okay to feel: hurt, sad, angry, rejected, abandoned, etc.. It’s even okay to cry. Just give yourself time to feel, give it God and let Him help you not only get back up and get back in line, but teach you how to walk with Him.

40. In my hands, things fall to nothing. But when I learn to trust God in every area of my life and place even the smallest detail in His hands… Well, I stand amazed at what God does!