The All-Knowing I

Why is it that we think we are always right? I say we because I assume that myself and all the other people that I see making this same silly mistake are not just coincidences. Yes, not everybody thinks they are right about everything. But I can confidently say that all of us have thought for sure we were right about something and ended up being wrong. I could even guess that this has happened recently for you. Or maybe you are beginning to understand a little bit that you possibly are not the smartest, wisest person under the sun.

The thing is that while sometimes this unfortunate misconception is not that big of a deal and we end up being wrong that Tim Duncan has better career rebounding statistics than Dennis Rodman (note: I was right about Dennis. An anonymous Spurs fan was wrong… sorry J). During times like these, you can use statistical proof to show the other person their fault. However, other times, more important times, you can’t quite as easily show a person that they are wrong. Times like when people want to get married really young. They may think that they know for a fact that they will always love this person and that they should get married right away because that will never change. The problem is that they don’t realize that some of the people telling them to wait and rethink their thoughts (i.e. their parents) may actually know something that they don’t. Maybe, just maybe, old people know stuff. What if one of your parents, or whoever else is trying to advise you, actually had the same experience when they were your age? What if they waited and found out they were glad they did? What if they learned something from those advising them?  Weird thought for a lot of young people, but it happens.

The thing that is scary, though, for the younger people today is that we think more than ever that we know better than everyone. Despite the fact that we have no prior experience to go off of other than the limited things we have experienced in our short immature lives, we think we know enough to make pretty much any decision on our own. What if this leads to our generation not taking the advice of those more experienced and understanding of our situation? What if this leads to us not waiting and finding out we wish we would have?

We live in a day where we have to learn from our own mistakes. I think this is a good thing, but it can be really bad if we think that it means we have to make the decisions on our own when we have no way of knowing what is best on our own.  So next time you are going to make a big decision (or a small one too for that matter), ask for some advice from somebody that would actually know something. Don’t be afraid to look silly because the people who really look silly are the ones that end up realizing too late that they were wrong.

Proverbs 19:20

“Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.”

Thankfulness

So today is Thanksgiving (well it’s technically Friday morning now and I should be sleeping, but it still counts), and I was just thinking about the crazy amount of things/people I have to be thankful for right now in my life and I thought I’d share some. I feel like I am more thankful now for some of the things I’ve had for a long time than I was previously just because I know how blessed I am now. So here goes…

I am extremely grateful for my family. My parents and brother and sister and sister in law are all just phenomenal and I love them. They have taught me so much and have been there for me through the roughest times in my life. Also, I am more thankful than ever for my extended family too. My grandparents are awesome. They care so much about me and would do anything for me and I appreciate them so much. And my aunts and uncles and cousins too are really great too.

Next is the group of friends from home. Even though I will go a long time without seeing them, whenever we get together, it’s like we were never gone. So much has happened since we graduated a short year and a half ago, but I still care about each of those friends and always will. I have had some of those friends since pre-school like Kurtis and we will always be best friends. And others that I’ve only known for a short time but am already becoming really good friends with like Q-bert.

Then there are all my friends at school. I am so thankful to have found such great people at this school; it really is a blessing. I always have fun with my roommates, who I have the strangest but funniest conversations with. The guys on the basketball team are all awesome and fun to hang out with. Bryce, Austin, and Steve always crack me up. People I sorta knew but am getting to know better this year like Addison and Ben Betscher. And new friends that are “basically number one at everything” like Chelsea. 

One thing I am so thankful for right now, possibly more than ever, is playing basketball. I knew last year that I missed playing and that I wanted to give it a try this year, but I had no idea how much I needed this! Playing this year has pushed me in so many ways. I think I have gotten tougher and fought through things that I wouldn’t have been able to do in the past. And I am having so much fun with this team. I love the guys on the team and I love playing a sport that I love all the time. There have been times that it has made me sooo angry, but every second of that and all the hard work I put in has been worth it. I’m so thankful that God has kept me healthy enough to play this year, and I pray that he continues to watch over me so I can keep playing!

There are plenty of other things I am thankful for right now, like MVNU, and all the different opportunities I have had, and other things that I’m probably just forgetting, but this is just the beginning of the list. I just wanted to let those people that I appreciate know that they are a blessing to me. So thank you all for being a part of my life! 

Discipline

Hey folks, sorry it’s been so long. I’ve been crazy busy lately with basketball and classes and everything else, but I want to keep getting my thoughts on the page so they aren’t just stuck in my mind all the time. So here…

Sometimes in life, we think that we should do whatever we want to do all the time and get whatever we want if we can help it at all. However, I think this is not always best for us. There are times when it is truly best for what we desire to not happen. These times are important for us to realize life is not always fair and it can help us grow into the realization that pain is just a part of life no matter what we do to avoid it and we will just have to accept it eventually. Another reason these times are important is because sometimes we need to willingly give up one thing in order to attain something potentially better. Giving up a good thing for the best thing.

Usually the best things in life do not just fall into our laps. Often, we must work for these things. Things like love, dedication to anything, and relationships all take effort.

If someone is dedicated and passionate about a sport, they will work and work to get better at it so they can reach their full potential of the player or athlete that they want to become. Conditioning and working hours and hours in the offseason can get quite annoying after a while, but you won’t have the skills and toughness you need if you don’t discipline yourself to put in the work when it is hard.

In the same way, relationships and love take discipline and hard work. You may have convinced yourself that you are with the right person at the right time, but it may not really be that way. God may have other plans for you. I think we are good at convincing ourselves that we know what we are doing even though we may have no idea what we’re doing at all. I know that’s how I was. I’ve been in a relationship where I thought I knew it was best for me. When it ended, I was shocked that I could have been wrong, but now I know what happened was for the best. I have grown because of the situation so much and I am now thankful for the pain I had to experience and am a better person because of it. You just have to discipline yourself to know that whatever happens will work out for the best in the long run. God always has a plan. You have to discipline yourself to let the best thing happen instead of settling for something that will temporarily satisfy you.

Patience is one area of discipline that can be extremely hard, but also necessary. There are certain things that we want in life that we think we are ready for. It could be a relationship or some sort of reward or anything. But when we think we are ready for it, we think we should have it now. Sometimes, those things don’t happen for a long time, but they happen when we truly are ready. I think God has a bit of a sense of humor when it comes to timing that we just don’t understand. But his timing is always right.