Dear Reader,
Erin Davis is today's guest author. Her new book is Fasting & Feasting, 40 Devotions to Satisfy the Hungry Heart." Thanks for visiting the book club, Erin...
Four decades of living have trained me to look for wisdom among the women who are older than me. Like the piles that stack up when you live in the same house year after year, wisdom seems to accrue in the hearts and minds of women with a lot of candles on their birthday cakes. Here are life lessons I wish I'd learned in high school:
- The college, major, and career I pick don't define me. I am not my work.
- Marrying someone who treats you well really, really (really!) matters.
- God's promises are true. If He said it, it is as good as done.
- Being the prettiest or most popular girl in school matters for about half a second after graduation. In contrast, being the kindest girl in school gets remembered well past your ten-year reunion.
- You will look back at pictures of you and think you were stunning. Trust me.
- Insecurity is a massive waste of time and energy.
- It's okay to have a ten-year plan, but there's a 100% chance it will get interrupted. That's a good thing.
- The bands you listen to in high school will be your very favorite bands forever. Keep the T-shirts.
- You are being formed by your habits.
- Saving money is about freedom, not denial.
- Don't wait until you're rolling in the dough to be generous.
- The world doesn't revolve around me. That's a good thing.
- Champion others often.
- Normal is a mirage. Embrace your weirdness.
- Worry less about having the right friends and worry more about being the right friend.
- Don't be afraid to fail. Stand up in front of the class and give that speech. Try out for the lead role in the play. Start a club. You may fall on your face. You may not. But at least you went for it.
- Your parents turn into your favorite people.
- Most of this will make a good bonfire some day. Invest in what lasts.
- When you do something stupid to impress someone, it's still doing something stupid. Do the smart thing instead.
- Nothing good happens after curfew. Go home.
- Since outward beauty cannot last, spend your time growing a beautiful heart.
- Social media doesn't make you smarter. It doesn't expand your horizons. It's fine, but it's finite.
- You only get one body. Take care of it.
- You have time. I had a baby at 38, switched careers at 39, and started grad school at 41. There's more sand in the hourglass than you think.
- Work hard, rest hard. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
- Assume the best in people and when they give you their worst--faggehtabout it. That's not about you.
- Bitterness will eat you alive from the inside out. Forgive those who hurt you, not as a gift to them, but as a gift to you.
- Life never gets any sweeter than pancakes and children in pajama pants. Learn to linger with the ordinary moments. They are the good stuff.
--Erin Davis
What items would you add to the list? Reach out to Erin at: erin@erindavis.org
More about Erin:
Erin Davis is a writer and teacher passionately committed to getting women of all ages to the deep well of God's Word. She is the author of more than a dozen books and Bible studies, including Connected, Beyond Bath Time, and 7 Feasts. Her latest book, Fasting & Feasting, 40 Devotions to Satisfy the Hungry Heart has been warmly received by women of every age. Erin hosts The Deep Well podcast and Grounded videocast. When she's not writing, you can find Erin chasing chickens and children on her small farm in the Midwest.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
* This month's Penguin Classics is The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win
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