Dear Seventeen Year Old Me

~ Isaiah 43:1~

{NIV}" Fear not," says the Lord..."for I have redeemed you, I have
called you by name and you are mine."

Perspective. It changes constantly. Remember when you were a teenager? If you were anything like me, you were so sure you knew everything you would ever need to know about yourself, about life, about everything and everyone else.

The choices, the regrets. The judgments, the mistakes. The achievements, the failures. They are what shapes us. If given the opportunity, most of us would choose to have done at least some things, a little differently.

We've all heard of that really fun idea where we sit and write THE letter to our younger selves. That 'Oh so very important letter'.

I have found myself wanting to do that, often. I'm thinking it's that whole 'getting older' thing. And the whole, 'raising teenagers' thing. And the whole, 'man, if I only knew' thing.

I find myself contemplating sitting down. Quietly, seriously, reflectively...and going back to me. The younger me. The one that knew everything about everything. Yes, her.

I want to warn her, I want to guide her, that young girl...

Now, hold on one minute...I'm not going to write that letter, right here and right now. That would be too much sharing even for me.

But I will share with you this...

That I wish I could have told her;

To stay in school, to make sure that she goes to college and pursues that degree, to travel and see things and experience people and other cultures, to not rush into marrying so young; to not be so very timid and unsure of herself, to go after her dreams, to believe in herself, to know that she was smart, she was pretty and she was funny.

To learn how to handle money, and invest in her future, to not worry so much about what others think of her, to be more selective in choosing the men in her life, to not be so proud, to ask for help, to be more forgiving.

That she did deserve to be loved and cherished. That she is kind and loving and that those are the gifts that she would bless others with, later.

That there is so much more to life than what she can see right in front of her. That there is One that loves her exactly as she is. Selfish and mean, cranky and ornery, clueless and silly.

I want to tell her that;

Nothing is as bad as it seems right at that very moment. That apologies are worth more than diamonds and that hugs really do speak a million words.

That people will come into her life and they will leave, that each and every person ~ coming or going will leave their mark ~ good and bad. That she will have loved and she will have lost.

That she will be okay. That through it all, she will be carried. Her tears will be wiped, her laughter shared, her heart expanded. Her friendships, incredibly fruitful.

That in seeking the One who called her, she will find all the truth she will ever need.

I would love to make her smile, by letting her know;

That she will have four beautiful, healthy, super, super kids. That they will be created in love and that they who conceived them, did so with love. That these babes will come into her life as complete strangers that she has always known. That the first time she sees their little faces, she will have recognized them with her whole heart.

And I would sincerely want to protect her by sharing;