Accept that change is inevitable. Develop the skills and capacity to see God’s hand in whatever change is occurring. Even good change must be grieved. Learn to put your love for the water to use by rolling with the waves of life. Swim with the wave and let it move you, rather than fighting it only to get crashed down.

Go to Colorado. Make sure to visit family; let those feet experience the trails of the Rockies. Breathe in a peaceful, deep breath of fresh air, and when you do, gaze skyward and say “thanks” to God for every fugacious moment of your life.

Advance your career towards things you’re more passionate about.

Keep writing.

Do small things frequently with great love.

Compete in a half ironman.

Go back to Africa. (Before you’re thirty. You can go after too if you’d like.)

Participate in a flash mob.

Find some more friends who share a similar theology/worldview. Make friends with more people who don’t know what their spiritual beliefs are. Enjoy learning so much from them.

Say words of affirmation to others more frequently.

Rehearse love, God’s love, in your mind instead of worries.

Grow a tomato plant.

Simplify your faith. Let go of the constraining voices from certain faith community’s teachings that are eating up your energy.

Travel.
Travel.
Travel.

Worry about money less. Trust in God’s provision.

Explore what’s on your heart; don’t let anything that keeps resurfacing go unexamined. Ask God for a way to incorporate coaching into your life, perhaps alongside some type of women’s health/gender equality program.

Conserve water from your showers when you first turn the faucet on and wait for the temperature to adjust.

Write people cards. Even spend money sometimes on the really nice ones, like the Quoteable cards or UNICEF cards.

Practice contentment. Be wild and unruly, but in that process, express continual gratitude. If you are unsatisfied with something and you can change it, do something about it.

Learn that your passions need to be pursued because God has put them there for a reason, no matter how contrary they seem. If people use labels to describe you, give them an envelope to put the label on and go FedEx yourself back onto your journey of freedom in Christ.

Practice Christian unity. Remind yourself that no matter how much you may disagree with or feel hurt by certain faith teachings or practices, each of us is made imageo dei and each is saying, “Yes” to Jesus’ heart-beckoning call into the Kingdom of God the best way they know how. In light of so big a diety, ultimately our words and arguing will fall silent in the presence of this God… the God of love.

Take lots of pictures.
Speak hope.
Laugh at yourself.

And, as always,
Love life.
Be brave.
Play hard.

Forever and ever,

Your 25 year old self