28 - What Does Having It Together Look Like?
Twenty-eight.
Honestly, just saying that sounds strange. I feel like it’s an age that nobody ever talked to me about. Growing up I knew all the age milestones: 18, 21, 30, 50, etc. but we never talked about 28. It’s that number that stands somewhere between you are no longer just a young 20 something trying to figure it out and feeling the need to have it together.
However, It doesn’t feel like I have it figured out most days and sometimes I wonder what does "having it together" look like. Is it married, married with kids, or maybe it is owning my own business? I wonder if my together is being influenced by where society says I should be at this age. And if you think people aren’t already reminding you at 28 about your biological clock then think again.
I am at an age where the majority of my friends are married and have children which I actually like because I’m able to ask questions and get knowledge on things that I haven’t even experienced yet. I don’t think I tell them enough but I cherish my best friends that open up to me about marriage and just the different struggles that come with that season and with being a parent. I was talking to one of my close friends the other day and one thing she said she missed was her sleep before having a baby. She explained that restful sleep as a mom and wife is different than as a single person. I know it’s something so small but it made me laugh because in these moments I never think about things like rest. I had some more heart to heart conversations with my other friends and I think one thing that I grasped at the end of our talk is that in some way we all miss something that we no longer have and long for the things we have yet to experience. Either way, it helped me to realize that instead of wishing for tomorrow and hoping for a future that I can’t see, I should enjoy the season I am in and live in the present. Tomorrow will come soon enough.
In Lysa Terkeurst's book, It's Not Supposed to Be This Way: Finding Unexpected Strength When Disappointments Leave You Shattered, she said, "What would happen if we really lived in the absolute assurance of God's love in the midst of our disappointments?" I know what being assured of God’s love when things are going right looks like but what about when you’re 28 and your life thus far has not always been what you imagined? I knew that God was reminding me that even in the middle of uncertainty He had not forgotten about me, He still loves me, and has good things planned for my life.
I am committing year 28 to doing what I can with what I have. Embracing the season that I am in because when it’s gone it will be gone. I don’t want to be there looking back and wishing that I would have cherished this time in my life more.
So, happy birthday to me! This is 28.
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