Advice From Myself
Posted By Aaron Marcelli on March 22, 2010
Whenever I have been asked the proverbial “if you could meet anyone, who would it be” question, I have almost always passively joked, “myself 5 years from now.” But that’s probably not such a bad answer. I mean, who would have more personal insight and vested interest in our growth and well being than an older, wiser self?
If you know my story, you know I went through a difficult time of emotional pain and material loss a few years ago when I was let go from a ministry position. Though some may think I’m milking that situation for all I can get (by the way – book comes out this summer), I have thought about if the me now could go back to the me of August 2007, what might I say. There I was, having lost my ministry, my income, having to move out of the church housing I had. No family, little savings, still relatively new to town. Here is what I think I would have told myself then:
Pray more, worry less
Your sitting alone fretting will do no good. Take this trial as an opportunity to grow faith. If you’re going to be spending so much time by yourself, spend it before God rather than going through newspapers and websites thinking you have to figure it all out.
Allow people to help you
Swallow your pride and quit telling others and yourself you’re ok. It’s not a sin to be in need and many are well-meaning and able when they offer their support. Quit robbing them of the chance to be a blessing to someone in need.
Don’t spend money on anything that requires you to pay before you have the chance to start earning
You are going to get caught up and tempted with many “opportunities.” don’t be ignorant and naïve and end up regretting blowing a lot of your money on things that are not what they appear to be and never pay you a dime.
We learn through our mistakes. At the end of the day, I still believe I am better off because of what I went through and the direction it has brought my life. Though the above may reveal a few mistakes I made in that past situation, I’m proud of myself that I did seize the opportunity to make a fresh start with new friends, new habits, and a new church. I’m also glad that I did not rush back into ministry before I was ready and hurt even more people because of that.
I fully believe that God deals with us in the present. When we mess up, He does not point His finger and tell us we blew it. Rather He sees where we got off track, and He deals with us from there. We may not be able to call out to ourselves from 5 years into the future, but if we will realize our opportunities and practice faith and patience, I do believe we can live without regrets.
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