• Maturity is understanding that in order to receive respect, you must first show it.
• When you are angry and in the moment, your true colors are shown.
• Nothing can be solved with anger—only love can solve everything.
• You can't expect grace from some people, because they haven't yet realized how much grace they have received.
• When you lose a fight with a friend, you lose. But when you win a fight with a friend, you lose, too.
• If you don't seek the Lord first, you'll NEVER make the right decision.
• When someone is not happy, they will do everything in their power to bring you down, too.
• If you are afraid to tell a friend about something, you know you are in the wrong.

And lastly ...

• You don't know pain until you've looked in your car mirror at the house you once called home, and (with a tear streaming down your face) thought to yourself, I will never call this home again.

Give people a chance. Everyone has a past—everyone has messed up. Everyone has sent that text that they regret later. Everyone has said that insult that burned as it left their tongue. It happens to everyone. You are NOT perfect.

But guess what? God is LOVE, and He shows unprecendented love and forgiveness to us every second of every day.

Why can't we just reflect a little tiny bit of that to others? Why can't we just put aside the mistakes others make and realize that we are all human?

I chose to live my life by something I found in the Bible a long time ago: "And now (in the end) these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13).

We are better than this.

We are more mature than this.

We are stronger than this.

Put aside your childish thoughts, your ignorant actions, and your unforgiving hearts. Our Father is the Guy who made EVERYTHING in the world—every tree, every drop of water, every animal, every human being. Don't you think we can at least act like we care?

In life, some things cannot be taught; they must be experienced and learned from. I know that in my life, I have experienced a great deal of issues and problems.

And guess what? I've learned from every one of them.

• Never again will I judge someone from what their past entails.
• Never again will I jump to conclusions on an issue with a close friend before hearing all sides of the story.
• Never again will I purposefully hurt the feelings of someone, because I know what it feels like to be hurt and not have a defense.

Miles Jordan Ross, a freshman at Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, recently graduated from Central High School in Little Rock. Check out Miles' blog at http://www.milesjross.blogspot.com!  

What is one of the greatest life lessons you've ever learned?