After a seemingly endless decade of twentysomething fun, I’m so excited to turn thirty today. With respect to my childhood and later, teenage years, everything happened for me in my twenties.
It’s the decade I found my first career.
And my second. I started several magazines, merged them with others, and then bought Relevant.
It’s the decade I found my future wife.
And then I married her.
It’s the decade we had our first two children, found a completely new purpose in parenting, and are happier than we’ve ever been. (The kids just started youth lacrosse!)
And, for good measure, it’s the decade I started three more businesses.
In 2013, I started Quadzilla and man––– pants that fit dudes with quads changed everything. Then, in 2014, I started a hybrid indoor training facility slash rock climbing gym. And finally, you can’t forget my current baby, PizzaDog. Next time I see you, come in for a free Pomeranian sized pizza (with the purchase of a Great Dane).
It’s the decade I truly found myself.
…
…
…
Except I didn’t.
Are you where you thought you’d be? Expectations are fickle. Ten years ago, then nineteen year-old Jayson would’ve likely said the following:
“Man. I can’t wait for my twenties. I’ll be able to go to bars, graduate college, start a career… whatever that ends up being. Maybe I’ll go the distance with this girl. I could be married by 23–24, with kids by my mid-to-late 20s. Either way, I have so much time. Who wants nachos?”
Before you know it, time flies and the needle moves. The nachos stay the same, but your expectations morph into what “seems realistic” for a specific year or stage of life.
So whether I thought I’d be choosing schools for lil’ Dagger ––– other potential names included Cannon, Turbo, Gunner, Renegade, or any of the American Gladiators––– I’m not. But it doesn’t mean that determining lil’ Thunder’s education is not my future, it just isn’t for now. And it doesn’t make me desire a family or owning a rock climbing gym any less, but the opportunities placed in front of you are always moving, regardless of your desires otherwise. The key (for me, at least), is staying in your lane and not fretting over the speed things “have to be”.
After all, what is the source of my true fulfillment?
This morning’s sunrise was exceptionally beautiful.
This morning, I did as I do every morning of September 20 and I headed to the beach.
I’m not sure when this tradition started, but this is a huge component of my year-to-come as I consecrate what’s ahead before the Lord.
Pray. Worship. Rejoice. Leave. It’s a pretty simple process, but the act is tremendously anchoring.
Do you want to know my favorite part of this moment?
I don’t think it’s any of what I said above. Even the sunrises vary from epic to average.
For me, it’s the one consistent piece of every birthday sunrise. It’s the moment just before daybreak, as light begins to bleed out from the darkness and up into the atmosphere. It’s the promise of “I am not there yet, but I’m on my way” and it’s a beautiful, prophetic illustration.
Kind of like where I’m at now.
The moment just before daybreak has me thinking ––– consistency rewards consistency. I know that the “sunrise moment” is fleeting, so I make a point to show up thirty minutes before the sun rises. Pray-worship-rejoice-leave is a ten minute deal, otherwise, but the sacrifice is worthwhile when the subject is encounter.
Especially this year, with the dawning of a new decade, I am especially sensitive to what God is saying and how he’s trying to deliver it. As the sun rises on a decade of promise, I submit myself to the will of God and say, “Father, show me how — — so long as I’m with you!”
That’s it.
It’s been a long week and I am completely out of words. I don’t really know how to tie it all in, but I believe this is my #GloryDecade. These are the years I’ll get married and have children. This is the decade I’ll build champions and businesses. Unlike in my twenties, I haven’t really looked ahead and benchmarked where I think I’ll be. 27 seems a lot more defining than 37, for example.
Either way, where I think I’m going and where I’m meant to be are two different places and either one is fine.
I’m so honored to have an amazing community and I can’t wait to look back on this. Friend/reader, you are the bomb. ✌🏼