Some of my friends had some really wise things to say and as I was writing them down later to make sure I didn't forget what they said, I accidentally wrote an entire page...so here it is, unedited for the time being (grammar Nazis, beware)

In the world, especially America, we have this idea and we’re told that we can be anything we want to be. And we have these big dreams of what we want to be and want to accomplish, but it says in the Bible that those who are faithful with the little things will be entrusted and faithful with the big things. So be faithful with the little things. Show up. God will bless our hard work (whether that’s with tangible success or internal growth that strengthens us and our relationship with Him), but we have to remember that, at the end of the day, anything we have or achieve that is worthwhile isn’t of our own doing or a result of our work and efforts, but a gift from God.

We’re not guaranteed or deserve a single day. We’re not guaranteed or deserve great friendships and relationships. We’re not guaranteed or deserve a career or any type of worldly success no matter how hard we’ve worked. We’re not guaranteed nor deserve anything, yet we have one or some or all of these things but take them all for granted and complain that we don’t have enough. But we have plenty of seemingly little things that we’re not faithful with… a friendship, a dream, etc. How many times do we wake up in the morning and think, “Thank you Lord for blessing me with another day” rather than going through the days like they are owed to us. Why do we need someone to tell us to tell 10 people we love them? Why can’t we do that every day to more than 10 people to everyone we love? To everyone we hate? Life’s too short to waste time being mad and vengeful.

And honestly, in the grand scheme of eternity, that anger and grudge or hate is simply silly, petty, and meaningless. Like one day, I’m gonna be sitting up in heaven and people in the KKK, white supremacists, and all the people who perpetuate systemic racism and injustice are gonna seem so pitiful and silly. It takes some much time and effort to successfully accomplish anything. To spend some much of your life dedicated to hating people and perpetuating that hatred through your actions is such a silly way to waste your life. And on a smaller spectrum, being mad at your parents, sibling, friend (or frenemy, I guess, if they came to mind) is a waste of time. How many people have had a parent or child or friend die before they got around to reconciling.

Jesus says to drop everything, even your worship to God (via sacrifice or worship or whatever) and reconcile with your brother immediately. Don’t let the sun set and your head hit the pillow before you reconcile (I suck at this tbh). We’d do a lot better to spend our lives loving people selflessly. That’s what showing up and investing in the little things looks like. A lot of life is just showing up physically, mentally, and emotionally. The people who do that are the ones who get where they want and get to experience life the way it was meant to be. So showing up when you don’t want to because you’re an introvert or you don’t know what the hell you’re doing. If you don’t go to bed everyday tired from having told all the people you love how much you love them (there’s love languages and stuff so that looks different for different people, but unlimited texts and minutes are a thing so hell, use ‘em), showing you care about people you don’t know or working hard at the things that you don’t enjoy whether it’s a job you don’t like or cleaning up because your wife or roommate hates a dirty house or chasing after dreams or figuring out ways to make people who are disenfranchised or forgotten by the world that they are loved and remembered, then you’ve wasted time you don’t get back.

(side note tangent: YOLO gets a lot of shade, but the phrase it represents, you only live once, is something we really should live our lives by because it is true. And not in the “let me do a bunch of stupid shit and party my life away, but like actually making every day count by taking risks in caring for yourself and others.

I’m not saying to be me and not sleep or make the mistake of trying to be God and solve all the world’s problems as if God needs you to do these things, but make an effort to show up and show up for people. Love doesn’t look like a Nicholas Sparks movie, but a lot of little stories that made big impacts that you’ve never heard of. And the characters in those stories, wealthy or not, are the richest people in the world!

“19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[a] destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:19-21