- Travel to a Spanish speaking country (Studied in Costa Rica 2007 & lived in Mexico for a year)
- Help someone become Catholic (RCIA sponsor in 2012)
- Discern my vocation (Got married 10/5/2013)
- Travel to Rome & have an audience with the Pope (Best. Honeymoon. Ever.)
![]() |
My 20th Birthday… Taking Selfies before it was cool. |
But sometimes when that deadline arrives it can be tempting to only focus on what we haven’t accomplished. As my birthday got closer it was really hard not to think about the fact that I’m not 30-50lbs lighter (hellooo baby weight + the lbs I never lost in my 20s). I have an incredible list of things that I can be proud of and thankful for, but for some reason it was really tempting to only focus on how I failed to reach a certain number on the scale.
Maybe someone else is disappointed that they never traveled as much as they wanted, or mastered a certain skill, or figured out their vocation in life yet. That’s OK. Just because we don’t do all the things in the time frame that we imagine for ourselves doesn’t necessarily mean that we’ve wasted time or that we’ve failed at being a successful 20 or 30 something.
God is still at work. For all that we don’t mark off the lists, there are so many other things that, when we really take the time to think about it, God has done in our lives.

If God can do all that in my 20s, then I’m certain that my 30s are going to be full of more surprises and adventures. I’ll probably make a “Before 40” list in case God needs any ideas, but I already know God’s plans will be better and more fulfilling than what I can dream up for myself.