Things I Learned This Summer

This summer has been full of learning experiences. I've learned and grown so much this summer and I'm ready to apply everything I've learned when I go back to school. This summer didn't turn out how I had hoped, but that's probably for the better. Here are some major things that I've learned this summer.

Trust God

This is something that I've already known, but this summer I really learned to trust and depend solely on God to work things out. Things have looked impossible from a human standpoint but I had to keep reminding myself that "For with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37). I've learned to trust Him and I've watched Him come through for me in so many ways and forms. God worked out things that seemed impossible. Everything started to come together once I cast my anxieties on Him (1 Peter 5:7) and let Him handle things. Letting go is hard, but once you get the hang of it, you learn to do it without struggling.

Patience

Patience is something that I've struggled with for basically my whole life. However, this summer my patience was extremely challenged. I had to familiarize myself with waiting for something to come to pass, rather than rushing things. This one really goes along with trusting God for me because I really had to grasp being patience with God. Don't get me wrong, I'm still trying to grasp the concept of patience, but this summer I feel as though I've really made some progress with it.

Value Yourself

It's really important to love and value yourself, I mean really love and value yourself. Everyone has probably struggled with this at some point in their lives so you know it's a real issue. It can be hard to overlook your past and your faults, trust me I know! But, I have started to move past those mistakes and started forgiving myself. I've always been too hard on myself and now I am trying to stop that. Give yourself some leeway and know that you will make mistakes; it's in our human nature. Repent, ask for forgiveness, and learn to move on! God has forgiven you, so forgive yourself! Also, always remember that you are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalms 139:14)!

Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

This is something that I've struggled with for a while, but I'm slowly starting to come out of it. Things like social media, and the media in general, have made it hard for people not to compare themselves to others. However, my mother has really put it through my head that no one is truly living like they want you to think. People only post the photos that they want you to see, which is the good and fun things going on in their lives. Of course they leave out the things they had to go through to get what they had or to get to where they are. Start keeping that in mind and put things into perspective when you're tempted to compare yourself to others.

Be Comfortable Being You

It's time to stop caring about what other people think about you. Life is too short to live your life trying to please others because, truth be told, you never will please everyone. So why not be comfortable and confident being your true self? It's too much work trying to be someone else because it doesn't come naturally. Who cares who doesn't like you? As you get older, you really don't have any time to care about who likes your versus who doesn't. Those who don't like you shouldn't affect how you see yourself. Build a strong relationship with yourself so that things like that don't have an impact on you. Know that God loves you and that He will never leave you nor forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6)!

This summer has definitely been a summer of growth. Of course we all have hopes and dreams of how our summers should go, but we can't be mad when they don't go our way. Honestly, it's probably best that things don't always go our way. Overall, I'm happy and content with the way my summer turned out.

What have you learned this summer?

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