Life Lessons...

I've been thinking of starting a new series of posts called 'Life Lessons.' This would be when I share with you a certain lesson that I've learned throughout my long 29 year life...in hopes of encouraging you, or at the very least ~ keeping you from making some dumb mistake like I have. Got it?!?! Good!

So...here it goes ~ Life Lesson #1:

People are going to disappoint you....let you down...not do as you expect them to...fail to live up to your standards. You see, I know a little something about high standards. Throughout my life, the standards that I set for myself were so high, you'd need to catch a jet plane to find them. I had to get the perfect grades, had to have the perfect hair, and had to be the 'best' at everything I did. I am still like that to some degree, yet I don't feel that I am a 'perfectionist,' in the sense that I need everything in order...because I certainly don't. I do feel that I am a 'perfectionist' in that I need to do the best in all that I do. I have that internal drive that does not push me to be competitive with others, but only with myself. Okay ~ enough analyzing me and back to life lesson #1!

By maintaining these high standards for myself, it has caused me to create pretty high standards for those around me. There is a quote that says, ""Blessed is the man who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed" - Alexander Pope. When you expect nothing, then you can't be disappointed. I can't seem to get that through my thick skull though, so I continue to build up false expectations for myself and for those around me, and then get disappointed when I fail or when they let me down. It's a vicious cycle, let me tell ya!

It seems that sometimes this happens to those that I love the most, from my family, to past friends, and past boyfriends. Through many trials and many errors, I have learned that no one, including me, will ever live up to my expectations because no one (well there's this one guy), is perfect. We will always be disappointed with ourselves and with others because we are not able to live up to perfection and we all have free will, so we are able to make our own choices, and sometimes our own choices will cause others to be disappointed in us.

The only one who will never disappoint us will be Jesus, because he did live the perfect life and was free from sin. He will never let you down and he will always be there for you, even if it is in ways that you didn't expect or plan for. So, the lesson to learn is to a) cut yourself and others some slack and bring down those expections a little and b) remember that even when other disappoint you, Jesus will never do so, so put your faith and trust in Him and not in man.

And, that my friends, is your first of many Life Lessons to come!