Life Advice | Things I Would Tell My Younger Self

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

  • James 4: 14

  • Ecclesiastes 3

  • Proverbs 31: 25

  • Psalm 1:3

  • Romans 8: 18; 28

  • Colossians 3:10 

  • Isaiah 61:3 

  • Genesis 50

  • 1 Corinthians 3:12

SHOW NOTES:

Life is funny in that experience brings perspective, and the longer you live, the clearer your perspective. It’s a gift to be able to look back on different situations and experiences with someone who may have gone through a similar season that you were in. Let me share some encouragement and advice I would have given my younger self, hoping you can relate and apply it to your life today!

I would tell my younger self that change is constant…so get used to it!

In general, life just brings a lot of change along with it. Throughout the years, it can actually feel like separate lifetimes. When you’re younger and things may not change much, it can feel like everything will be that way forever. Those “constants” such as family and friends can easily be taken for granted in those seasons.  Change is the only constant thing in life, so the faster you can embrace that the better. James 4: 14 compares our lives to the morning fog…here for a little while and then gone. Ecclesiastes 3 reminds us that there is a time for everything. Don’t dread change. Embrace it for the time and seasons God has given you with the perspective of, “It’s not going to be like this forever” – whether that is for the good or the bad. When you’re plugged into God, whatever season you’re in will bear fruit (Psalm 1: 3)! As the Proverbs 31 woman does in verse 25, you, too can laugh without fear of the future–remembering yesterday, being grateful for today, and embracing tomorrow. 

I would tell my younger self that joy is NOW! 

Wherever God has you in the now is the best place for you. It’s all about blooming where you’re planted.  It can be easy to miss out on the best version of yourself in the season you’re in if you get so focused on the end goal or what the future has. Instead, become the best version of yourself in the season that you are in. Put on your new nature (Colossians 3:10). 

When we stop focusing on the future and embrace the now, we see God’s grace and fruit from a new level. Joy is not a feeling or a finish line— joy is a decision we make. Mind your mindset, and stop saying “I’ll be happy when.” Joy is now, beauty is now…don’t wait for change to come–take the opportunity to become the best version of yourself today!

I would tell my younger self that God uses it all!

Even in seasons of confusion or plowing, God works all things together for our good (Romans 8:28).  There is a quote that likens our lives to the stitching of a quilt. One side looks like it has no sense with the strings all a mess,  while the other side is masterfully thought out and stitched together to create something wonderful. Though you may not understand what God is doing at the moment, trust God and keep going; you can be sure He is working in any and every situation. Certain situations reveal aspects of God that you may otherwise not encounter and a version of you will emerge that will glorify God at an even higher level. 

If it’s not good, God’s not done! Trust Him on the journey He has you on. His goodness, power, and presence are being revealed in all seasons!

joie miller