By Mike Riley

In all my years as a Christian, I’ve learned the following:

1) That you can do or say something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

2) That it’s taking me a long time to become the person God wants me to be.

3) That you should always leave loved ones with loving words – it may be the last time you see them.

4) That you can keep on going long after you think you can’t.

5) That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

6) That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

7) That my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and still have the best time.

8) That sometimes I have the right to be angry, but that doesn’t give me the right to be cruel.

9) That maturity doesn’t have as much to do with how many birthdays you’ve had as much as what you’ve learned from your life experiences.

10) That no matter how bad your heart is broken, the world doesn’t stop for your grief.

11) That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

12) That the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

13) That even when you “think” you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you find the strength to help.

14) That I didn’t bring anything into this world and I shall take nothing out with the exception of my character and my relationship to God (Job 1:21).

15) That the two most important goals in this life are to, “Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).