#finallyforty
It feels like yesterday when I penned down "Life in 39 lessons". Somehow turning 39 was filled with high anticipations of a new season. Call me a weirdo, but I truly couldn't wait to be forty, you know, just like a girl who can't wait to be seventeen. I had butterflies in my tummy thinking about being forty. I could smile all day thinking about the day when I'm finally forty. I would imagine the places I'll go, the people I'll meet, the dreams soon to come true.
There is something about becoming forty.
Little did I know, soon after, I embarked on a wild ride of the decade. Within three hundred and sixty five days, life challenged me to make vertical leaps of faith in the midst of a spinning world. Many days, I felt powerless and cornered. In the back of my head, there was a voice that kept chanting "life is too hard". Imagine a young fifteen-year-olds who came home after days of High School dramas, I would end many days sulking & crying due to all the "dramas" of my life.
Lesson #39:
Life is hard but we can do hard things
Loving others is hard
Marriage is hard
Raising kids is hard
Building career is hard
Serving people is hard
Pursuing dream is hard
Staying on course is hard
This is how we were created to be
We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength
Preaching to myself didn't always work when I had to deal with mental conditions, financial struggle, betrayal, health challenges, disappointments, brokenness, confusions, questions, doubts and postponed dreams.
There is something about becoming forty.
And as much as I wanted to curl up in bed every single day, I had no choice, I was already on the way to forty. "Just keep swimming" I told myself and there in the midst of the chaos, I found a treasure, one important lesson in becoming forty:
Life is a gift
(lesson #40)
a thing given willingly to someone without payment; a present.(lesson #40)
gift /ɡift/ -noun
As a mom of three, I have learned that one magical element of any special day is the gift. Each birthday celebrated in my house is always highlighted by a gift (from a simple handmade one to the epic-wish-list-dream-comes-true one). And because I love my kids so much, I would try my best to give them the best, to give them the biggest smile (and maybe some happy tears), to out-give them, to make their dreams come true, and to give them even more than what they ask.
One day, Jesus told a story about the good shepherd and his sheep to His disciples and He said "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]". John 10:10 (AMP)
So, my Father, out of love, has given me (and you) a gift, life itself. Knowing Who my Father is, the gift He gives is always good, enjoyable, fun, beautiful, over the top, well-thought-of, above and beyond imagination. Therefore when He said that He came to give us an enjoyable life that is full and overflowing, I had to trust His words. I chose to trust His words regardless the reality in front of me.
I am choosing life.
I choose to receive the gift of life.
I choose to see life as beautiful because it is a gift from my good good Father.
Friends, I may not know your current situation. You might be dancing on the hills or walking through the valley. I am too still waiting for my breakthroughs to come. I am too still facing impossible situations. And maybe you are too.
But please allow me to offer you a different perspective. I would like to invite you to see life as a beautiful, well-thought-of, and purposeful gift. Yes, you may still need that income you've lost, you may still need that healing in your body, you may still need that peace in your marriage, you may still need a life-partner you've been searching for, you may still need that good relationship with your family.
But I want you to be aware that God knows exactly what you need, He knows your deepest desires, He hears you prayers, and He is working on every detail of your life. Therefore, we all can rest and instead of focusing on the battle,
we can start breathing the air He gives,
we can start chasing those butterflies, sunrises and sunsets,
we can start laughing at those funny moments of life,
we can start smiling at those beautiful souls around us,
we can start taking things lighter,
we can start singing,
we can start dancing,
we can start learning something new,
we can start enjoying every meal,
we can start dreaming impossible dreams,
we can start climbing those mountains
we can start creating epic inventions,
we can start living an overflowing life now.
Today, I am finally forty.
I have arrived to the day that I have been waiting for and I plan to live & enjoy this life.
Join me, will you?
With love,
Felecia
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