Earlier this year, I celebrated my 40th birthday. Turning 40 was nothing like I imagined it would be when, years and years ago, I thought about reaching this milestone. To commemorate this new decade in life, I thought it would be fun to share some of the things I’ve learned over the past 4 decades.

40 doesn’t feel nearly as old as I once imagined that it would.
My body is definitely feeling older with more aches and pains and less flexibility, something that I didn’t think would happen this “early” in life…
…but ironically, my mind, in many ways, feels sharper than I expected now that I’ve lived out half of my life expectancy.
Whether or not it shows on the outside, inwardly, I feel calmer than I did in my 20s and early 30s.
Time doesn’t heal all wounds…
…but God certainly makes all things beautiful in His time.
Life is much harder than I imagined it would be…
…but it’s also far richer in non-monetary ways than I ever dreamed it could be.
Sometimes, the dreams that we choose to let go of come to fruition years and years later when we least expect them to blossom. (Example: Growing up, I dreamed about living out in the country on acreage, but as our married life led us to the Bay Area where the cost of living was exorbitant, I set aside that dream to enjoy the life we loved in our mobile home on a postage-stamp-sized lot. But in 2020, the Lord made it possible for us to move to a beautiful homestead on 5 acres!)
That said, those dreams often look very different in reality than they did when we wished for them years before. (That beautiful new homestead wasn’t in California as I’d expected when growing up. In fact, it required a cross-country move to Pennsylvania and looks VERY different from my childhood dreams.)
As hard as it is for my encouraging heart to accept, I can’t please everyone. And the Lord has gently been teaching me that pleasing everyone isn’t even my job.
Motherhood, with all of its ups and downs and self sacrifice, is an amazingly wonderful season.
And because it’s truly wonderful, I need to be making more of an effort to share about those wonderful moments with other mamas. All too often, we hear about how hard or how exhausting raising littles is, and while it can be those things, too, if we neglect to share about the beautiful parts, we’re not helping to encourage those coming up behind us.
I loved writing in high school and college but never knew how much I’d enjoy blogging and being creative online! It’s truly a gift to be living in today’s day and age.
Marriage is never perfect…
…but because of Jesus, it can be perfectly wonderful.
I never imagined that I’d be a mommy to 6 kids.
But there are a lot of things in life that I never expected…
…most of them amazingly wonderful and gifts from God.
There are also a lot of things in life that are vastly more difficult than I could ever have imagined…
…though as M.Is.For.Mama says on Instagram, “hard is not the same thing as bad.”
“Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me” by CityAlight has become a fantastic song for me to listen to on repeat.
Teaching my spark plugs at home has been incredibly challenging, more so than I would have guessed as I was being homeschooled growing up.
It’s also been extremely rewarding, again, more so than I ever could have dreamed. Heartfelt conversations with the kids, especially as they grow and mature, capture my mama heart more than anything else in this world.
I’ve been surprised at how much I enjoy learning new things…
…even - perhaps, especially - things that I find especially challenging, like technical stuff and marketing. Who knew?
I am utterly an introvert at heart, which I’ve long known…
…but I was surprised at how much I missed fellowship with friends during the lockdowns and right after our cross-country move.
It is perfectly okay to live your life differently from the mainstream…
…as long as you have prayed about it, sought Godly counsel, and know that your direction is in line with what God is asking of you.
Godly friends who will uplift you with Scripture, confront you when needed, and pray for you daily are a rare and precious gem.
Reading through the entire Bible never gets old. I’m always surprised by how much I don’t know or don’t remember!
The story goes that years ago, a small church gathered to pray for rain, and only one little boy brought an umbrella. While we need to pray in faith, I’ve also learned about the crucial importance of carrying someone else’s umbrella when a person is struggling in his or her faith. We can pray in faith for that person.
God gives grace for today, but so often, I want grace for the future before I need it…
…but I’m learning that He will also give grace for tomorrow when tomorrow comes. We don’t need tomorrow’s grace until tomorrow arrives.
Often, I don’t recognize the ways in which I’m growing during a hallway…
…it’s usually after the hallway has passed that I realize how much stronger my spiritual muscles have become.
Life here on Earth will never be perfect, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be beautiful.
I’m convinced that if we look hard enough, we can see Jesus in each and every situation. It may not be readily evident how God is working, but He is there just as He has promised, working all things for our good and His glory.
We all could spend a lifetime studying Micah 6:8 - “He has shown you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”

And one to grow on: Because God still has me here, He has a clear purpose and plan for my life, and I cannot wait to see where He leads in the coming days, weeks, months, and years, should He choose to bless me with continued life on Earth!

(Bonus: the above statement is just as true for you as it is for me!)