Jess Hover: 25 at last.

It happened August 5th. I turned 25 years old.

It felt.... wonderful.... slightly intimidating... and also a lot like being 24....
but mostly it felt wonderful.

It's only been a few weeks, but so far, I really like being 25.

I like it because I feel extra aware that I know more about life than I did when I was 18 and 21.
I also like it because I feel a lot more comfortable being me.
I'm WAYYYY more comfortable being me than I was at 16, 18 and 21... and even 22 and 23.

I will tell you though, as I was approaching my 25th birthday I got a bit scared.
((This is not at all surprising considering I'm the girl that cried every Birthday-Eve until I was like 18 years old, because I was so afraid I wouldn't be able to handle the next year. Like on my last night of being 8 years old- I cried in bed because I was so afraid of being 9. The fear passed the morning 9 arrived... but the night before, I was one very teary-eyed 8 year old... and it happened like this for the next 10ish years. You get the picture.))

Anyway, back to my fear of 25. CLEARLY I had some.

In a moment of nervousness I decided to send a message out to some of my older lady-friends, that I both adore and look up to, asking if they could impart some of their wisdom to me about being 25. I compiled a list of questions and sent them out hoping that their answers would help me to approach my 25th year of life with excitement instead of fear. I also decided that whatever answers I received back I would repost here on my blog.

To my JOY- I received so many wonderful responses back that I actually can't fit them into one single blog post.

So instead I am going to do a series called "Dear 25 year-old,".

My hope is that even if you have been 25 before, or you have not yet rolled up on the quarter century mark, you can still be encouraged by the timeless wisdom shared through this blog series.

I pray that no matter what this year throws your way, you will be able to take these answers from my pals and face everything you encounter with more confidence in yourself and more faith to trust in the Lord.

I'll get things started by sharing just a little response from my friend Danielle Cason. She is a treasure.

I'm looking forward to taking the coming month to share the rest of these responses with you.

I asked Dani...

What is something you know now that you wish you knew when you were 25?

"Twenty-five was my last year of singleness, and I began the year on my birthday being freed from crippling anxiety, fear of the future, and with a quote from St. Augustine ringing through my newly liberated heart:

"Love God and do whatever you please:

for the soul trained in love to God will do nothing to offend the One who is Beloved."

I would tell myself that all over again."