Jaru's Reflections: Thirty

As I wrap up my first year in my throne years... I've been doing some thinking/reflecting.

God has truly blessed me to be where I'm at with the friends I have.

But 30 has been interesting; I entered bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, but I realized there was some work needing to be done.

And as I identified that work, I realized I needed to reconstruct some old habits into better ones and build consistent routines. So my lifestyle wouldn't get in the way of me living my life. For instance, how can I develop routines that build a successful life, so when new things enter in, I'm not fighting myself with old habits that no longer serve me. So, pretty much, reconstruct the infrastructure of my life.

With all this, I realized... my first reflection: "Jobs not finished" - Kobe Bryant. I got to thirty, a great age, but it wasn't time to let off the gas but to engage more. My favorite artist J. Cole famously said, "I didn't get the deal just to relax..." and for me, I didn't build this life I had just to chill and never amount to anything else; however, I did it to set myself up to be a better and stronger and wiser man. And go bigger than I could even imagine.

So next came another challenging realization. Distractions are ever present, and it's very easy to slip into something that's not helping me go further into my mission. As a child, my dad would always tell me, "no distractions..." and I heard him and listened, but then I thought, a good distraction every now and then never hurt anyone. But oh, with my age I've learned how wrong I was. Which brings me to my next reflection. Stay focused... this year I could have easily and almost did derail what the Lord was doing in my life. I almost messed up my anointing. Which made me realize you need to protect your anointing. If you allow yourself to get distracted and lose focus, you will lose sight of your North Star guiding you to your dreams and goals. People always look at me and think I'm all these great things but they don't realize it's all because of the Grace of God. 1 Corinthians 15 10 says "But by the Grace of God I am what I am. And his Grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I but the Grace of God which was with me". However, this could've all been for naught if I didn't realize I wasn't staying focused. Praise God for mercy and grace.

In addition, as I realized Jobs was not finished and to stay focused. I had to return to yet again another sage word from my dad. "If you want to be different, then you have to do different." This one really hit because, as much as I took this to heart in my youth, which amounted to me receiving a college scholarship and me living out my soccer dreams. I think as I got older, this ideal has slipped away from me. But as I'm progressing through my Thone years, "Being different" is essential for where God's taking me. And for me, the meaning has morphed from just being different from peers and friends to amount to goals. But now to being different from the man I was that no longer serves me. And this man that no longer serves me can be the one I was yesterday. And that's the true struggle and strength that I am building and walking through.

And lastly, my last reflection is "patience is a virtue". God's got a special plan for my life, and I'm gearing up for it and grateful for the opportunity to be a part of what he's doing. But I need to be patient. If it was meant to come fast, it wouldn't be worth the wait. Something my Uncle Dave always tells me is "I stay my haste, I make delays for what avails this eager pace. I stand amid the eternal ways and what is mine shall know my face". God has a plan, and no matter how fast I try to move or the delays I make within the plan, God's plan will prevail. So in doing so, I need to "be still and know..." Psalm 46:10. Being patient and not trying to manipulate the situation will bring the peace and happiness I desire.

So as I enter 31, I will take with me the lessons of 30 and look forward to this new chapter in the book God is drafting.