Ten things that I am proud of in my life

1. Back in 7th grade, I was erroneously credited with 13 extra points on a history test. Against the advice of the people around me, I went ahead and gave them up. Since every point matters in the top 20, trading in those points dropped my placement in the oh-so-important school rankings of the day by a good 8 places. It was still the right thing to do, and set me up for a lifetime of continuing to do the right thing.

2. I stopped a "preacher" from verbally harassing someone. I ended up becoming the new target, but it reminds me that I have the courage to break out from the crowd in pursuit of my convictions.

3. I opened my home to a homeless man for a night, against my own fears, and was able to listen to him tell the true story of who he was, pray encouragement for him, and send him onwards. I wish I could know what's become of him, and though I took many precautions, other contrasting stories have led me to question whether or not I was acting wisely. But I know that I can, at times, have the faith to follow God's calling for compassion.

4. I have at least one friendship where I am trusted as a pillar for any circumstance, for any struggle, for any season, and have received that same kind of blessed kinship love in return. I can rest knowing that love for those around me rests higher in my priorities than earthly power or riches.

5. On the spur of the moment, and with 5 minutes of preaching time to a bunch of teenage friends, I found the words that captured the essence of my own fears and doubts, and the reason I will overcome them: "when God calls you to do something, don't spend your time wondering whether you are the best person for the job. You are *the* person for the job, and what matters is that you carry it out in faith." I still struggle with this, especially in listening for that clear conviction, but I know that what I spoke is a truth that I will carry with me.

6. There are portraits in various homes across the country that capture the joy and beauty of people that I have known. Those portraits are now part of those families' heritages, and will perhaps be the foundation for stories that they tell their children and grandchildren. I took those photographs.

7. More than one person has affirmed that I have influenced who they are now, and what they value. I really want to see this virtue grow, more in magnitude than in quantity. There's a skeptical heart in me that still longs to know that I have actually made them better off, but I hope to come to peace with that ambition someday.

8. In a time of deep anguish, when I felt as if someone had taken away a person I cared deeply about, my first instinct was to understand the other person rather than to loathe. Through that experience, I have gained a new friend, and the affirmation that I do have the strength to love and rise above human pettiness.

9. I have the instincts to identify convention, and am able to consciously choose to do things differently. It gets me into trouble sometimes, and I often fault it with costing me things that I want, but it's still a rare virtue that is woven into who I am. I will someday be able to use it properly.

10. ...somehow I'm having trouble thinking of a 10th. It's not that there's nothing left, but I keep vetoing the ones that come to mind because they seem to get more and more subjective and can't be grounded in a single experience the way the others are. Dear reader, can you recount something about me that you are proud of?