Posted by Megan
When I was 13, I didn’t dream about being “thirty, flirty and thriving” like Jenna in the movie “13 going on 30”…not even anything close to it! In my mind, thirty was so far off and simply meant something related to being an adult, which I equated with being married and having children and doing whatever else I thought adults did. Well, I will be 30 tomorrow. I know…hard to believe! I’m trying to figure out how to spit those words out if someone asks how old I am. I am entering a whole new decade and that seems rather strange.
It feels like one of those milestones where I should evaluate what I’ve accomplished or not accomplished and how I am going to meet those goals in the next year, 5 years, 10 years, and on. My natural tendency would be to look at all the things I wish I would have done by now and be too hard on myself for not reaching those goals. Worse yet, would be my tendency to compare myself to other people my age or even younger who have accomplished far more than I may ever. Yep, that’s my human side with an inner drive to do more, be more, have more….more, more, more.
Almost every day of my life I feel the need to accomplish something. Big or small…doesn’t usually matter, but I need to check something off my to-do list with each passing day of my existence. Today I will reflect on something that wasn’t on my to-do list. I’m not going to add anything to my to-do list either. I am going to CELEBRATE 10 exciting accomplishments or moments in the first 30 years of my life (in no particular order):
1. I graduated at the top of my high school class, and it doesn’t matter that there were only 4 of us! It was still a special accomplishment. I also have a college degree, and I put it to good use every day.
2. I am married to my best friend, Wade. He is the most amazing, loving, romantic, encouraging person in my life. Marriage has been better than I ever expected or dreamed! He was absolutely worth waiting for when sometimes it seemed there might not be anyone for me.
3. I still get excited thinking about the high moments in my life. By high, I mean being up in the sky…on roller coasters, in a hot air balloon, parasailing, and even, skydiving! I still get excited just flying in a plane and looking out the window at this great big world.
4. I have visited 28 of the 50 states in the USA, and I have visited 12 countries outside the USA, which includes 5 of the 7 continents. I’m ready to start filling up my 3rd passport with more stamps. God created a diverse and breathtaking world, and I am thankful to have seen as much of it that I have. My first trip out of the USA was at age 15 when my parents allowed me to go on a mission trip to South Africa, and I haven’t been the same since!
5. I lived in one of those countries for 2 years…Georgia (not the state…I know some of you are still confused about where I disappeared to for so long). There are no words to sum up this experience…it was priceless!
6. I spent the first 18 years of my life growing up in small town mid-west America and proud of it. My parents still live in the house I grew up in, and I love to visit there. There is something about the roots that I have there that have gone deep, and I highly value the consistency of growing up in one place being taught day by day what really matters in this life by people that are very dear to me even today.
7. In 30 years, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know many amazing people who have made my life even better – the Chanute friends that I shared so many growing up experiences with and still share gatherings with and can pick up conversation with after months as though I talked to them yesterday…the Evangel friends who love me as me and challenged me to spread my wings and dream bigger…the after college friends who helped me find my place “in the real world”…the many missionary and Georgian friends that feel like family…and now the other young couples that Wade and I have befriended and are learning about this stage of life together. Somewhere in between all these groups are others who have graciously allowed me to know something about them and learn from them and laugh with them. I hope they can say that I added something of value to their lives too.
8. I have a wonderful, supportive family! I love getting together! I like family traditions and I like making new memories. I love family dinner night each week. I am constantly amazed by the big imaginations that my nieces and nephews exuberate and the witty comments that come from their mouths. I like hanging out with my sister-in-law, and I even love my brothers and have forgiven them for the trauma they caused me as a child. I love hearing my parents bicker about who gets to talk to their favorite daughter first on the phone. My family multiplied when Wade and I married last year. There are many new traditions and memories that have filled my life in just a short time. I have enjoyed all the visits we have shared over the past year. I love staying on the "farm." And I loved learning how to make apple butter as much as I have delighted in eating it. Family is a blessing!
9. I love how my lungs fill up with fresh air as I pedal long and hard on my bicycle…especially when it’s outside the city limits! I have ridden as far as 90 miles in one day and have done numerous 30, 40, and 50 mile rides. I never get tired of it!
10. I have put on many leadership hats and many were quite outside my comfort zone…stretching me just a little more. From student council, to yearbook editor, to activities board treasurer and Crosswalk ministry board treasurer, ‘Big Sister’ with Big Brothers and Big Sisters, fundraiser, public speaker, Sunday school teacher, etc. Under each title, I failed a little and a lot and I learned a little and a lot and I became a better person because of it.
Now that I am turning 30, it doesn’t quite feel like I imagined it. However, I am happy about the first 30 years of my life and hope I’ll be blessed with 30+ more!
This little girl is 30...
