:. things i've learned .:

I've learned some things in my trips around the block. In honor of my natal anniversary, here are a few:

1. you don't have to worry about what people think of you, because they aren't.

2. he who has God, plus many things, has nothing more than he who has God alone. (I wish I had said that, but it was C.S. Lewis.)

3. because I believe the above statement, I know we would all be better off with less 'things'. And more God, of course.

4. now and then I like to contemplate the difference between then and now.

5. sometimes life is hard, but it's never the end of the world. Unless, of course, it's the end of the world.

6. if it were the end of the world, it would be too late to do all those things you've put off doing.

7. we tend to forget that this life is only a drop in the ocean compared to eternity. that's why we worry more about the status of our bank account than the status of our soul.

8. we all take way too many things for granted, including people we love.

9. we have NO IDEA of the depth of God's love for His children.

10. nor do we have ANY IDEA how holy God is, either. (We tend to think He's like us, only bigger. Wrong.)

11. we often confuse the patience of God with acquiescence. Big mistake.

12. life was never meant to be a bed of roses. (We got kicked out of the garden, remember?) It's actually more of a crucible; a place to refine us into the people we were meant to be.

13. it's futile to run from God. He fills heaven and earth . . . where are you going to hide? Better to stop running and submit. You're guaranteed a much happier ending.

14. there is no such thing as greener grass. That is simply an illusion created when we look through eyes of discontent.

15. Dorothy was right, there really is no place like home.

And just for the record: If I were a tree, I'd have 54 rings. I wonder how much girth that is in the arboreal world?