68 Lessons from 68 Years

It is astonishing … nearly impossible … beyond belief … and inconceivable!

This is the week that I will turn 68 years old.

What?! How in the world did that happen?!

Why … just last week I was riding my bike up and down Alleghany Road with my girlhood friends.

It was only a day or two ago that I was practicing my scales on the piano … reading “Little House in the Big Woods” for the first time … and waiting for the school bus on Church Street.

I’m sure that only a month or two has passed since I was a woefully homesick college freshman longing for the home of my childhood.

It seems as if only a week or two has passed by since I married the man of my dreams in a little country church on July 31, 1977.

And wasn’t it only yesterday that I held my firstborn son in my arms?!

Time sure has played a vicious practical joke on me because I still feel like I am 28 years old!

My life has flown by at the speed of light! Where did it all go?

But it has gone by …and I get to decide what to do with the time I have left.

“So teach us to number our days,

That we might present to You a heart of wisdom.” – Psalm 90:12

I feel the intentional necessity, in this season of my life, to reevaluate how I am living and to consider precisely what I am spending the hours of my days on.

“Eternity depends upon the proper use of time.” – Jonathan Edwards

Turning 68 means that my life is about to become richer and even more impactful.  

I can guarantee you that turning 68 doesn’t imply that I am an old lady … it simply means that the lessons that I have learned over the past 68 years are valuable … timeless … and important.

Standing on the threshold of having lived for 68 glorious, irreplaceable, incomparable years is something to shout about!  

Therefore … let it be known that turning 68 is a milestone worth celebrating, indeed!  

And so, as a gift to you in this, the celebration of my 68 grand years upon planet earth, I have decided to share with you, my sweet friend,  

“68 Valuable Lessons Learned on the Journey of Life”

1 – Read your Bible every day. There is no greater devotion that will have the significant long-term benefits than this one discipline will have in your life.  Believe me – I know.

2 – Love your parents with your whole heart as long as they are with you. You will never regret it.

3 – Always keep a song in your heart.  If you can’t sing – then whistle.

4 – People deserve kindness more than they desire your opinion. It’s more important to be kind than it is to be right.

5 – Don’t take parenting too seriously. Never lose your sense of humor in the home.

6 – Take parenting seriously. What you do and what you say to your children matters – it matters more than you can imagine.

7 – The reason you are on earth is to love difficult people.  Think about that for a minute!! Don’t allow difficult people to bring out the worst in you – allow them to bring out the Jesus in you!

8 – You can never say, “Thank you!” often enough. A heart of sincere gratitude will change the atmosphere of your life.

9 – Time spent reading is never wasted time. Read the classics and the current best-sellers. Read self-help books and who-done-it books. Read the books that your friends recommend to you and re-read the books that you read as a child. Fill your mind with words and your heart with the moral of the story!

10 – Time spent playing is never wasted time. Enjoy life! Throw a football with your grandchildren … and play dolls with the little girls. Get down on the floor as long as you are able and raise a ruckus!

11 – Love your spouse with your whole heart.  When he or she gets on your nerves – love them more deeply and more fully. Hold your spouse’s hand in church. Never go to bed without saying, “You mean the world to me.”

12 – Wring the joy out of an ordinary day every day. Don’t waste one more day of your extraordinary life in gloom or in discouragement. Today is a great day to have a great day!

13 – Introduce yourself to a stranger at least once a week.

14 – Don’t shovel snow when you should be planting flowers.  Know what season of life you are in and respond appropriately.

15 – Go to church even when you don’t feel like it.  Think about it … God is waiting to meet with you where 2 or 3 are gathered in His Name!  I wouldn’t miss that meeting for the world!!

16 – Don’t get into debt.  Save more than you spend.

17 – Call your grandmother.  And your mom. And your dad. And your grandfather.

18 – Stay in touch with childhood friends. Send them e-mails or hand-written notes. Reminisce on social media. Plan a reunion. Look at their faces and see the young person that is still there.

19 – Listen to more than one kind of music.  Include jazz, classical, worship, Big Band, oldies, country and Christmas music in your weekly choices!

20 – Hang out with children every chance you can. I have decided that I like children a whole lot more than I like adults!

21 – Hang out with older people every chance you can.  Sit with a widow or widower in church on Sunday. Go to a nursing home and just listen to someone’s life story.

22 – Keep fresh flowers in your home and classical music playing on repeat. Create an atmosphere of sweet peace and sterling hope within the four walls of your home.

23 – Listen to Christmas music starting on October 1. Come on … don’t be a Scrooge! Christmas music is just too wonderful to only listen to it for 25 days a year!

24 – Invite lonely people to your Thanksgiving dinner. Or really, invite lonely people to your dinner table once a week! Widows … single moms … college students … empty-nesters … they all need an evening of unconditional love!

25 – Hang up Christmas stockings even when your children are grown and gone. Christmas doesn’t stop just because there are no children in your home. 

26 – If you are a wife … watch football with your husband! Or if you are a husband … go shopping with your wife!

27 – Love your children with your whole heart. Remember that to a child, whether they are 2 or 22, love is spelled “T-I-M-E”.

28 – Valentines are not just for elementary school friendships.

29 – Keep a prayer journal.  Record not only your prayer requests but also the answers to prayers that you have received. It might be the greatest legacy that you will leave.

30 – Remind yourself often that your adult kids can run away from your words but they can never escape your prayers. So your strategy should be to pray more and talk less. 

31 – When you get to the end of your life, it will be faith, family and friends that have made every day worthwhile.

32 – You can never sing loud enough nor laugh often enough!

33 – Long walks on a country road are a healing balm to the soul.

34 – There really is no place like home.  Thank you, Dorothy, for those words of wisdom.

35 – And … contrary to the beliefs of Thomas Wolfe … you actually can go home again!

36 – Make sure that you create a home worth coming home to. Fill your home with love, laughter, music and prayer. None of those virtues cost any money at all.

37 – Don’t gossip.  It’s never worth it.

38 – Develop the delightful habit of saying positive, affirmative words behind people’s backs. Be an “anti-gossiper”!

39 – Laugh at yourself.  We all make silly mistakes!

40 – Listen to the older generation.  Hear their hearts … listen to their opinions … smile at their memories … and learn from their wisdom.

41 – Listen to the younger generation.  Hear their hearts … listen to their opinions … and share in their dreams.

42 – Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year because a Baby changed everything ~ so celebrate fully and completely!

43 – It is actually more fun to believe!  I’ll take faith over fear every day of every week!

44 – You are never too old to dream a new dream or to set a new goal.  Never.  I want to dream an amazing new dream and set an impossible goal the day before I go to heaven when I am in my 90’s!

45 – Memorizing Bible verses is not just for 5th graders! Memorize a verse every week this year! 

46 – Worrying is a waste of valuable time.  Why worry when you can pray?!

47 – Life is not about you.

48 – Your life matters.  It matters very much.

49 – Forgiveness robs the past of its power and powerfully changes the trajectory of your future!

50 – Babies and children are not spoiled by love.  They are spoiled by things.  Hold your babies.  Snuggle with your children.  A compassionate, kind and patient mother is a world-changing mother.

51 – Be a better listener than you are a talker.

52 – No one will ever understand you like Jesus does.  Absolutely no one.

53 – The words “I’m sorry” are among the most powerful words in the English language.

54 – You are always just one day away … one prayer away … one choice away … from the greatest breakthrough of your life!

55 –“ Jesus loves me, this I know” is the most beautiful, rich and true song ever written.

56 – You are not defined by how much you earn but by how much you give.

57 – When you are too tired to work  … too spent to dream … and too weary to take another step … you can always sing!

58 – The great hymns of faith are among the greatest treasure that any generation possesses. Don’t forget the lyrics to the hymns that thousands of pilgrims have sung before you.

59 – You are the most powerful when you are on your knees.

60 – You are never too old to go on a missions’ trip or to give to a missionary.

61 – Leave a place better than you found it.

62 – Be dependable. Be a man or a woman of your word. If you have committed to do something … then do it and do it with excellence!

63 – Be a cheerful servant. Serve somebody everyday. Open the door for someone. Pay for someone’s coffee in line. Volunteer to clean the church. Take your neighbor a treat from the bakery. Mow someone’s yard. Smile at a stranger.

64 – Sing on the worst day of your life. Sing Loud. Out-sing your pain!

65 – When tragedy or trauma invades your world … keep your eyes on Jesus. Lean into faithful friends … ask others to pray for you … and hold your Bible.

66 – Find a friend who is willing to pray with you and for you. If you can’t find that friend, be that friend.

67 – Until further notice … celebrate EVERYTHING!

68 – Read your Bible every day.  It’s a choice you will never regret.

I would love to hear what lessons you have learned on your journey of life. What is missing from my list? Which lesson spoke to you?