rejection — Blog — Kristen Alexis Cave

Yesterday, I turned 26.

Wow - writing that down makes it feel very real. Although, the lady at Chick-fil-A yesterday told me I look like I’m still in high school…so I guess that means I’m aging well? Either way, I’m now closer to 30 than 20. What a terrifying and exciting reality all rolled into one!

I’ve learned a lot in my twenties so far. In fact, I’ve learned a lot in life so far. So with that in mind, I thought I would follow Taylor Swift’s lead and make a list of 26 things I learned before turning 26. Here we go.

How To Keep Going When The Doors Keep Closing

Have you ever been in a season where nothing seems to go your way? You get excited for this opportunity or that possibility, but then things don’t work out how you wanted them to. One door closes, and then another, and then another. You keep trying to make something happen, but with no luck. And eventually you get to the point where you’re afraid to walk up to another door because you don’t want to be disappointed if it closes too.

I get it. Shattered dreams, unfulfilled expectations, failures, they’re all disheartening. And when they come in multitudes, it’s that much more difficult to keep going. I don’t know about you, but I can only get knocked down so many times before I’m ready to just sit on the ground for a little while.

Is Your Comfort Zone Really That Comfortable?

I feel like a lot of times, being comfortable goes hand-in-hand with being stagnant. We get settled into where we are, and we don’t want to move because we don’t like change. We get stuck in a rut, living day-to-day without a bigger picture in mind. We stop dreaming. We stop chasing the things we really want because we’re scared they will be difficult or frustrating or disappointing…or dare I say uncomfortable.

But let me ask you something. If God is calling you to do something big, would you say “no thanks” because you didn’t want to lose your comfort and stability? A lot of us would like to say we wouldn’t, but in reality, a lot of us have avoided (or are currently avoiding) God’s call on our lives for fear of the unknown.