First thing in the morning, I went down the hill behind the Seidenburg/Terry/Pulliam cabin in north Alabama to the Little River.
Looking through the clear water at the tufts of water plants growing on perfectly placed boulders, I thought. Yes. There is a God.
If anyone doubted, here is even more evidence.
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| one second on the Little River Falls |
You learn a lot in 55 years, and this could be the most important truth. Everything didn't just happen.
Here are a few other things I have learned -- not all earth-shaking, but my personal favorites
1. Condescension and disapproval and judgmentalism never get you anywhere. Unconditional love beats that. Hands down.
2. Consider the lilies. They don't worry.
3. Teenagers and babies, even misbehaving ones, are still more in touch with God than cynical adults.
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| Teens must be God's favorites. |
4. Art is our feeble attempt to copy God. Feeble though it is, it's still beautiful.
5. Generosity trumps greed.
6. You need to be around unpleasant people sometimes to teach yourself how NOT to act.
7. God loves everybody. Sometimes it must be hard.
8. Complaining is unattractive.
9. Selfishness is like a weed that keeps popping up in weird places. Even after you have poisoned it thoroughly. Keep using the selfishness Roundup.
10. The road to a friend's house is never too long.
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| Even if it's 4.5 hours! |
11. Change is a good thing. Embracing it cheers you up. Fighting it frustrates the hell out of everybody. And it's pointless.
12. Honesty and vulnerability are two of my favorite things to see in a person.
13. Laughter is the only thing that will keep you sane. Thanks, Drew and Ellie Holcomb, for that song lyric.
14. Music opens the doors of a heart.
15. Sharing in a friend's deep sorrow paradoxically brings you joy.
16. Prayer can seem pointless when God knows everything and we don't even know what to ask for. But it's not.
17. Always keep in mind the body of a friendship before being hurt by a small sneeze of misplaced words.
18. Pride rears its ugly head all the time. Get out the sword.
19. Never put an apostrophe in the wrong place. Please.
20. Try not to be late to tennis.
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| True champions |
21. Remember tennis is a game. It's fun to win. But it's really not the only thing.
22. Pear preserves are awesome. So is sauvignon blanc. But you must use self control.
23. Stay in the middle. #susiewisdom
24. Everybody worships God in different ways. Yours is not the only or even the best way. But please do worship.
25. Listening is a very good skill. Work at it.
26. Use your talents to make the world a better place. Even if your talent is writing silly poems.
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| Art by Rick Hurst |
27. Be wise. Exercise. Move around. Have some fun.
28. The wise man built his house upon the rock.
29. A dog is definitely man's best friend.
30. Oxford is still God's country.
31. Never live in the past. Never live through your children.
32. Make sure to keep your friends watered and fed.
33. Apologizing is hard.
34. Children are one of God's best gifts.
35. You feel better when your hair is clean and your nails are done. But don't let that keep you from getting dirty.
36. Keeping your mouth shut is sometimes the hardest thing. And sometimes impossible. Can I get a guardrail for that?
37. Screen doors are awesome.
38. Take people in.
39. Step out of your box. As often as possible.
40. It's hard to be brave when you are only a very small animal. Like Piglet. Be brave anyway.
