Beech Tree News Network

As mentioned before, my oldest daughter gave me a journal entitled Mom, Share Your Life with Me… Each page has a question to which I respond. One question recently said, “Do you have some good advice for me?” Now, when did a mother not have advice – good, bad or indifferent – for her child?

Wikipedia defines advice as an opinion or a recommendation offered as a guide to action or conduct (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advice). A few thoughts about advice are below (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/advice.html):
•    Advice is like snow - the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper in sinks into the mind. ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge
•    When your mother asks, 'Do you want a piece of advice?' it is a mere formality. It doesn't matter if you answer yes or no. You're going to get it anyway. ~Erma Bombeck
•    Wise men don't need advice. Fools won't take it. ~Benjamin Franklin
•    My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it's on your plate. ~Thornton Wilder
•    Our worldly successes cannot be guaranteed, but our ability to achieve spiritual success is entirely up to us, thanks to the grace of God. The best advice I know is to give is to give those worldly things your best but never your all - reserve the ultimate hope for the only one who can grant it. ~Mitt Romney

I also asked friends and family: “What one piece of advice would you give to a younger person?” Their responses are below:
•    Don’t wish your life away. Enjoy each moment because it will fly by on its own.
•    Do what you want, and if it feels awkward, don’t worry. You’ll find someone the same, or it’ll become cool later in life.
•    Put God first and everything will fall into place. Don’t get married before you finish your education.
•    Listen to your elders. They really have been where you are. They really can relate to what you’re going through.
•    Hard to pin down just one thing. Go to college; get a degree in something you will be happy doing the rest of your life. Make some money, but more importantly, save some money. You will be old quicker than you think. Find someone that loves you when you’re not too lovable and make the commitment that lasts forever.
•    Ditto my husband’s advice (above), but I would add to have Jesus Christ as your personal savior and then He’s always there when there is no one else to turn to. Keep Him in your life and make Him your entire family’s center. Things still won’t be perfect, but He makes things better. Also, learn how to give as well as receive and how to put other people’s wants and needs before your wants and needs – you will be a lot happier in the end.
•    1. Always trust your gut feelings. 2. If you want to cry about something, then cry about it; but, never cry about it again. Life is too short to cry about the same thing twice. 3. If you’re a girl, black is one of the few colors that never goes out of style. 4. Fall in love with as many things as you can – people, places, things. It doesn’t matter what it is, you can never love too much. 5. Of course, the most important thing is to trust God and his plans. Also, when in doubt, pray.
•    Keep your priorities straight: 1) God, 2) Family, 3) Everything else. Read the Bible daily if possible; it contains tons of wisdom and principles to apply to your life. Try not to worry since it’s usually a waste of time. Work hard, but don’t take it home; resting will make you more productive. Learn to say no to your boss and focus on what you like and what you’re good at – get rid of and avoid the rest. Ask for what you want, or you may never get it; no one is a mind reader. Develop a healthy habit or routine: running, lifting weights, swimming, playing ball, anything to get you up and moving. If you live long enough, you may be glad you did this.
•    Waiting until you are older to worry about things like retirement funds, your health and church work is wasting precious time. You should consider these things priorities from the beginning of adulthood. We can’t make up for years of squandered funds or bad health choices or missed blessings. They’re just gone.
•    What matters now won’t matter in five years. Don’t worry about what you can’t change.
•    Today is the tomorrow you were worried about yesterday. Don’t worry too much about things that haven’t happened yet!
•    Worry about your education first then focus on boyfriend/girlfriend, marriage and having a family. Even if you don’t agree with your mom now, listen to what she has to say because later in life, you will look back and see that she was right.
•    Ask God’s guidance in all areas of your life.
•    Think about tomorrow. Where do you want to be in ten years? What kind of person do you want to be? How will you get there? What will it take? (Nine times out of ten, it will take more education.)
•    Take care of yourself physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. You will be so glad you did.
•    Don’t let fear of failure keep you from trying.
•    From Micah 6:8, to act justly, love kindness, and walk humbly.

It’s a good thing the journal question asked for “some” advice. As a mom, once that door was opened, it was hard to close (I did not stop writing after the first sentence.). Erma Bombeck was right: moms offer their children advice. And, bless her heart, my daughter has heard it all before.