Life Lesson #5

This fish is very similar to the one I accidentally grabbed ahold of (thinking it was a leaf) while swimming in the absolutely beautiful waters of Pagudpud last Thursday afternoon. Needless to say, I was shocked that my pretty leaf had such energy and I remained pretty jumpy for the remainder of the afternoon.

So, now for the life lesson --- Take opportunities, no matter how small. They might not come around again.

Some opportunities I've taken in the past week (in no particular order):

1. Travel out of town.

2. Take an unexpected swim in a warm river.

3. Go jogging in the mornings.

4. Try a new type of fish.

5. Share a word from the Lord with a group of friends.

6. Watch 2 traditional Catholic parades during Holy Week.

7. Talk to an old friend (which is a bigger deal than it seems).

8. Babysit.

9. Dance.

Life Lesson #4

If God wants something to happen, He'll make it happen. If He doesn't want something to happen (that is, unless we are to learn from it), it won't happen. Period.

Life Lesson #3

God uses every opportunity to teach us something, and we need to accept that and be thankful for it.

Until recently, probably just this year, I was one of those people who constantly asked God (and others, but mainly God) "why." -- Why are You allowing this to happen? Why do I have to go through this? Why is everything so hard? But now, I'm not. I can't ask why because I'm realizing that if for nothing else, most things I go through happen because God is trying to teach me. Little things like a friend making a rude comment to me or big things like moving to the Philippines -- they're all lessons. I feel thankful because God is giving me huge amounts of understanding. If I'm going through a hard time I understand why it's happening, I understand how God is using it to grow me and to glorify Him. I may be miserable, but I get it, and that allows me to be thankful. I used to wonder how we could possibly be thankful and joyful in all circumstances, because some things seem purely awful, but now I see that I'm learning, and that in and of itself is something to be thankful for.

:]

Life Lesson #2

"Hey, at least it's not raining." -- Meaning, it could always be worse.

I spend so much time dwelling on my own problems. When attending the necrological service of a 28 year old who recently died and left behind a heartbroken husband and a 1 month old son, I realized just how trivial those problems are.

Life Lesson #1

When traveling (or living) overseas, never use a slang expression that has the potential to be deemed cruel or disrespectful.

Yikes!