Letter to my 16-year-old self
/
Emily at Chatting at the Sky released a new book this week titled Graceful. It’s a book for teenage girls (right up my alley!), and in honor of
the new book she thought it might be neat for bloggers to write letters to
their 16-year-old selves.
(Neat? Really? Who
even says that any more?)
Anyway, it took a
while to conjure up images of way back then, but once I got into it, this was
really fun. Hope you enjoy this blast into my past!
Dear Me,
It’s hard to even remember you back then. Tall (you reached
your full 5’ 9” height in 8th grade), lanky (check out those legs!),
and feeling more insecure than pretty much anybody else around you.
These are some things I wish you had known back then. But then again, isn’t
hindsight always 20/20?
1. Life isn't always easy, is it? Sorrow and loneliness seem to be your closest companions, but they don’t have to be. Stop relying on yourself so much and let others in. Stop fighting with your sisters and make friends with them instead.
Life would be a whole lot easier with a couple of advocates on your side.
2. You feel like a fish out of water in high school. You
wish you had more friends, but making friends is hard. Don’t worry. College is
coming, and you’ll make the best friends of your life there.
3. You so want a boy to like you. Any boy. Don’t waste so
much time and emotional energy on that—it really isn’t worth it. Besides, you won’t marry a boy from
high school (thank goodness!). You’ll wait for the right one, and you won’t even
recognize him when he’s right under your nose. (You’re kinda dumb about boys.
Sorry.)
4. You really want to make people happy. This is a good
thing and a bad thing. You’re going to have to try to figure out when it’s
worth it and when it’s not.
5. Watch your parents carefully. They’ve been through a lot,
and still, they really know how to love.
6. You’re really skinny—enjoy it while you can, but don’t
make that your identity. It won’t last.
7. Keep reading. Keep dreaming. And talk to Grandpa Earl
about his travels because some day soon you will go to England, and it will
change your life forever.
9. Oh, and the hair? Just don’t ever go there again either.
10. You really love Jesus, but you feel like there’s
something you should DO to make Him love you back. There isn’t. Not one thing.
He already loves you more than you know. Unfortunately, it’s going to take a long
time before you get that. I wish you could get that now and rest in it forever.
Despite all of this fairly harsh criticism of you, I have to
say that you’ve turned out pretty well. You have learned a few things along the
way, you’ve become friends with your sisters, and best of all, you’ve let God
take over.
You’ve had a good life, dear Me. A really, really blessed
life.
