180 Degree difference in 365 days.
The Alex May today is not the same Alex May from one year ago. I think back on this past year and all that the Lord has done. All that He's taught me and shown me. All the pains and joys. So in thinking upon these things, I've decided to create a list of what the Lord has taught me over this past year- I hope it's an encouragement to you.
1. Find Community. A year ago, I was getting my boxes I had moved up to Chicago and bringing them back to the Boro. I was hurting and had some really hard conversations. I was a mess. But one year ago, a new season also began. I found a church home, I jumped into a small group where I knew no one, I served for UNITE (a church event...and knew no one), I started serving in the nursery at 8:20am... and knew no one. BUT through the course of jumping in blindly, I began to know people. Those people loved me and brought me in. They connected me and listened. The Lord used them to help me heal. Find Community- but not just any community. Find good, godly community that wants the best for you and desires to challenge you and love you and push you to grow. Community that listens and admonishes and loves fully, richly, and deeply... even if that means jumping in without knowing a soul.
2. Be Humble. Over the course of the past year, I have learned a lot about myself. I've learned about the beautiful and wonderful ways that God has designed me but I have learned a lot more about my sinful ways... the ugly parts of me. And boy.. do those things feel good to be faced with. But they're necessary to be faced with because we are always going to have things we need to work on. I want to be working on things until the day I die. And Good NEWS! I get to do just that.
3. Make Time. Life gets busy and in the busyness, I have often forgotten to set aside time to do important things - like connect with people that need to be connected with. Sit down and have a cup of coffee with friends and catch up on life. Be intentional about making sure the things in my life are semi in order here and there. And especially, making time to spend with my Creator each and every day so my foundations continue to be built on the rocks and not the sand.
4. My ways aren't always the best ways. Do you have something in your life that you feel like you're constantly working on? Maybe something you felt like you finally figured out and could move on from? Well mine is something called "Oh, that's the decision you made- Here's a better thought out plan that you should probably adopt because it's waaaaaay better." And y'all, that is UGLY. I think back on my life and I'm like "dang... if I woulda learned this sooner, some things might have been different". But things happen in the Lord's timing and I'm thankful that He even chooses to reveal them to me at all. Now, I will say that I have busted my butt to get better at not having this mentality but those vices... they getchya sometimes.
5. Renewed Self. I feel as though I lost myself a bit throughout college. Not in a bad way but just in a way that I really didn't have stability.. in a lot of aspects of my life. Post-graduation was hard too because now I was out in the real world and trying to be in 2 different places. But over this past year, the Lord has shown me who He has created me to be, again. He's cultivated within me renewed confidence and leadership, He's given me a soft heart that wants to love and serve and get to know people, and He's rekindled a deep love for him that loves others out of it. A lot of those things have been missing from me for years but He's graciously brought them back around.
6. Have that conversation in person. Doing life with people isn't always pretty. And communication is a huge part of it. When something goes down, too many times has texting made it 1,000x worse. Plan a time to call, FaceTime, or meet to work it out. Having all 3 points (words, tone, and expression) of communication during a rough patch or misunderstanding will clear it up faster than any other way. Another thing I wish I would have learned sooner in life because holy cow.
7. Show Grace. I feel like I've always been someone who is quick to forgive. I don't ever want their to be animosity between myself and someone else (if I can help it) because I don't want to regret not forgiving someone and risk that being the last thing between us. The Lord has given me a truly humble heart that seeks to right my wrongs as quickly as possible and to forgive and show grace as quickly as possible too. Recently I hurt a friend and I was torn up about it but by the end of our (face to face) conversation, she said, "You know, at first I was really hurt but by the time you were done talking, the Lord had softened my heart and I want to extend grace and forgiveness towards you.. and I don't think I would have been able to do that if you hadn't shown me grace and forgiveness so many times already." Wow.
8. Laugh till you hurt. One of my resolutions this year was to belly laugh as much as possible. Like, you know, the kind of laugh where you can't breathe and your sides hurt. We get so bogged down with the things of this world and the rough/tough things in our lives that we often forget to let loose and laugh. I think I've already belly laughed about 6-7 times this year. I know it's been like 1.5 months- but how many times have you genuinely laughed hard so far in 2020? Make it a goal - life is so much better.
9. Say yes. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Put your yes on the table. I have tried to consistently put my yes before the Lord so that he would use it in any possible way he desires. It's taken me from Chicago to TN. It's flown me from TN to TX to check out a camp. It's given me opportunities I've never had in my life and allowed me to cross paths with people I would have never met otherwise. It's given me a boldness that I've never had and a love for adventure. It's helped me chill when things don't go as planned. Saying yes can lead to some pretty cool opportunities and I can't wait for what's to come.
10. Yet to be written...
So these are some of the bigger picture things I've learned over the past year. Those who knew me, saw me, and did life with me a year ago and still follow or are around me now - A. Thank you. and B. I can't wait to see what the Lord does next.
1. Find Community. A year ago, I was getting my boxes I had moved up to Chicago and bringing them back to the Boro. I was hurting and had some really hard conversations. I was a mess. But one year ago, a new season also began. I found a church home, I jumped into a small group where I knew no one, I served for UNITE (a church event...and knew no one), I started serving in the nursery at 8:20am... and knew no one. BUT through the course of jumping in blindly, I began to know people. Those people loved me and brought me in. They connected me and listened. The Lord used them to help me heal. Find Community- but not just any community. Find good, godly community that wants the best for you and desires to challenge you and love you and push you to grow. Community that listens and admonishes and loves fully, richly, and deeply... even if that means jumping in without knowing a soul.
2. Be Humble. Over the course of the past year, I have learned a lot about myself. I've learned about the beautiful and wonderful ways that God has designed me but I have learned a lot more about my sinful ways... the ugly parts of me. And boy.. do those things feel good to be faced with. But they're necessary to be faced with because we are always going to have things we need to work on. I want to be working on things until the day I die. And Good NEWS! I get to do just that.
3. Make Time. Life gets busy and in the busyness, I have often forgotten to set aside time to do important things - like connect with people that need to be connected with. Sit down and have a cup of coffee with friends and catch up on life. Be intentional about making sure the things in my life are semi in order here and there. And especially, making time to spend with my Creator each and every day so my foundations continue to be built on the rocks and not the sand.
4. My ways aren't always the best ways. Do you have something in your life that you feel like you're constantly working on? Maybe something you felt like you finally figured out and could move on from? Well mine is something called "Oh, that's the decision you made- Here's a better thought out plan that you should probably adopt because it's waaaaaay better." And y'all, that is UGLY. I think back on my life and I'm like "dang... if I woulda learned this sooner, some things might have been different". But things happen in the Lord's timing and I'm thankful that He even chooses to reveal them to me at all. Now, I will say that I have busted my butt to get better at not having this mentality but those vices... they getchya sometimes.
5. Renewed Self. I feel as though I lost myself a bit throughout college. Not in a bad way but just in a way that I really didn't have stability.. in a lot of aspects of my life. Post-graduation was hard too because now I was out in the real world and trying to be in 2 different places. But over this past year, the Lord has shown me who He has created me to be, again. He's cultivated within me renewed confidence and leadership, He's given me a soft heart that wants to love and serve and get to know people, and He's rekindled a deep love for him that loves others out of it. A lot of those things have been missing from me for years but He's graciously brought them back around.
6. Have that conversation in person. Doing life with people isn't always pretty. And communication is a huge part of it. When something goes down, too many times has texting made it 1,000x worse. Plan a time to call, FaceTime, or meet to work it out. Having all 3 points (words, tone, and expression) of communication during a rough patch or misunderstanding will clear it up faster than any other way. Another thing I wish I would have learned sooner in life because holy cow.
7. Show Grace. I feel like I've always been someone who is quick to forgive. I don't ever want their to be animosity between myself and someone else (if I can help it) because I don't want to regret not forgiving someone and risk that being the last thing between us. The Lord has given me a truly humble heart that seeks to right my wrongs as quickly as possible and to forgive and show grace as quickly as possible too. Recently I hurt a friend and I was torn up about it but by the end of our (face to face) conversation, she said, "You know, at first I was really hurt but by the time you were done talking, the Lord had softened my heart and I want to extend grace and forgiveness towards you.. and I don't think I would have been able to do that if you hadn't shown me grace and forgiveness so many times already." Wow.
8. Laugh till you hurt. One of my resolutions this year was to belly laugh as much as possible. Like, you know, the kind of laugh where you can't breathe and your sides hurt. We get so bogged down with the things of this world and the rough/tough things in our lives that we often forget to let loose and laugh. I think I've already belly laughed about 6-7 times this year. I know it's been like 1.5 months- but how many times have you genuinely laughed hard so far in 2020? Make it a goal - life is so much better.
9. Say yes. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Put your yes on the table. I have tried to consistently put my yes before the Lord so that he would use it in any possible way he desires. It's taken me from Chicago to TN. It's flown me from TN to TX to check out a camp. It's given me opportunities I've never had in my life and allowed me to cross paths with people I would have never met otherwise. It's given me a boldness that I've never had and a love for adventure. It's helped me chill when things don't go as planned. Saying yes can lead to some pretty cool opportunities and I can't wait for what's to come.
10. Yet to be written...
So these are some of the bigger picture things I've learned over the past year. Those who knew me, saw me, and did life with me a year ago and still follow or are around me now - A. Thank you. and B. I can't wait to see what the Lord does next.
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