Wake Me Up

When I was young girl growing up in rural Tennessee, I remember my mom would tell me that it didn't matter what I did when I grew up as long as I did it for The Lord and to the best of my ability. Dad would tell me to take the smart route, don't get myself in all kinds of debt, and never stop growing my skills. I think they both had a great perspective, but I think the path I chose is just a little mix of their theories mixed with a lot of me. That big chunk of me includes some spontaneous decisions, big dreams, intellectual desires, and welcomed soulful serendipity. My need for a summer job straight out of high school led me to a job that I chose because it was simple work, good people to be around, and a lot of hours. It was supposed to be a temporary job to offset the financial burdens of being an eighteen year old irresponsible spender, but temporary was passed by long ago. I've now been at my job for over 7 years now. I worked my way up from scrubbing floors and serving food to screaming kids to being the bookkeeper responsible for all financial functions within our office. Ive worked under three sets of management, and learned the literal meaning of patience being a virtue. It was a year ago I started to rethink my life. I started comparing my life to those of the people around me. I walked down the aisle three times in seven months, but not for my wedding. I watched best friends deliver babies, and I witnessed precious people come to the end of their time of this earthly life. All of these things made me rethink some things. "Why am I 26 and single? Why did it take me so long to graduate college and start making higher than minimum wage, and when is it that I will have kids?" It didn't take much of that to finally wake up one day and realize how I was taking life for granted. I realized I wasn't upset because of those things or the lack there of. I was hurting and upset because I had been living my life to please other people. I was living my life on a timeline that was one hundred percent worldly. I claimed to be praying and listening to God's timeline, but I wasn't respecting it. Life is precious, and you should never take it for granted. However, there are people in this world who have the spouse, the kids, the degree they received in exactly four years or less, the perfect high paying job, and all that goes with it. Just because they have that right now doesn't mean I have to. Everyone has a different timeline. Everyone has a plan that is just for them. We aren't all meant to be twenty-two, married, and pregnant. Some are meant to be younger, and some of us may take a lot longer, but it's okay. When you stop sitting around waiting for life to start, it's amazing how much differently you see the world around you. You start to truly see your blessings. I have major respect for those who were wed straight out of highschool or college, but that's not me. I'm elated that I have friends so smart that they earned two degrees in the time I sweated through one. I thank God that his timeline is a little slower for me. I look back at what my parents told me long ago. Everytime a challenge arises I think of being ten years old and dad telling me to never stop growing my skills and never stop learning. He was right. Momma told me to always work for the Lord, and I can say that I finally understand what she meant. Then there's that eighteen year old dreamer who decided to always live life spontaneously and to never put a limit on her dreams. I'm still that girl. I require a little more sleep than that girl, and coffee isn't enough to keep me going anymore, but i'm still the same. I've learned that money isn't everything, wearing the newest fashion isn't always a great choice, things are things, simple is best, and the most simple thing of all is that we should love people wholeheartedly. When you realize the small things and their importance, you realize the impact they have on the big picture. Stop living life on everyone else's timeline, and you will see what I mean.