I Believe...

One of my girls today was asking me if I believed in the tooth fairy. It was a silly conversation that stuck with me for awhile because it was very different from other conversations I have had recently. This little one was asking me if I believed in something, yet it seems in so many conversations, tv advertisements, radio blurbs and just general life, people are telling me what I should believe. I am of an age where I get to have a vote and an opinion, but people still seem to think I am not as entitled to a vote or opinion as they are. I might think I know what I believe, but they all know what I should believe. It is a frustrating place to be. All of these thoughts collided and made me sit down and think about what I really do believe and why. It is a great exercise and I would encourage you all to find time and think about yourselves as well. Here are my top 5 I came up with:

1. I believe that God sent his son Jesus to die on the cross for my sins and in so dying, paid a price I could never pay so that I could be reconciled with my Heavenly Father and Creator someday in Heaven. My job is to accept the gift I have been given and seek to follow Christ in thought, word, and  deed. 
This is where it all has to begin for me. Without God, I am nothing and can do nothing. In my darkest deepest pits, the thought that saved me from myself was that I was created to glorify God and my depression was in no way bringing Him glory, so there HAD to be more for me. I was planned and purposed by God before I was even a thought to my parents, and when I feel that I have nothing left, no where to go, or nothing to hold on to, God sustains me.

2. My calling is to love people. 
Regardless of age, gender, race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, style, behavior, or any other factor my tired brain is forgetting, I am called to love the world around me and share the love God has for them. First and foremost, my actions and thoughts need to reflect the love of Christ and myself to a world in desperate need. Fear and hatred do not get to have strongholds in my life. People need to know God loves them and I need to be able to convey that message no matter what a person looks like.

3. Everyday magic exists.
A song, a smile, a story, a look, a laugh, a thought, a book, a cup of tea, whatever makes you happy and brings you joy is, to me, everyday magic. When I see a child's face light up because they finally figured out that word on their homework, or I find myself tapping my feet along to a song in the background, I know there is a beauty to everyday life if I take the time to pause and recognize it. I am guilty of focusing too much on the business of life and too little on the moments and missing some of that magic, but it is still there.

4. Everyone needs boundaries.
We get to be tired. We get to say no. We get to feel crummy and be grumpy. I need to know myself enough to know when I need to rest and recharge. Loving people does not mean letting them walk all over me and putting Christ first does not mean I ignore my physical and emotional limitations. God provides for us and equips us, but we are still human and need to stop feeling guilty when we have to say no.

5. If it matters to you, it matters.
Shoutout to Elizabeth Henry for this one. Those seven words changed my life. Regardless of if I understand why it matters, if it matters to someone, it is valid. People's feelings are valid. I don't get to tell people they can't or don't feel the way they think they do, and no one can tell me how I have to think or feel. Everyone gets time to react and process and if it matters to them, it matters.

I believe many other things as well, like that tea is better than coffee and strawberry cake is the best kind of birthday cake, but for me, these are what make up the core of who I am and aspire to be. I still have a long way to go and so much growing up to do, but right now, I can say I am pretty happy to be where, and who, I am.