Dear Younger Me,
When you’re eight years old, you’re going to help be helping Dad clean out the old camper to sell it.
He’s going to tell you to take out the wooden board stored in the upper cabinet.
Don’t do it!
Don’t open the cabinet door. Humongous black ants will have built a vast colony of thousands inside the cabinet. And like a bad horror flick, they’re all going to rain down onto your head as you’re looking up if you open that door.
And your sister is going to remind you of it for the rest of your life.
Don’t open that cabinet door!!!
Love,
Older Me
I should probably add to the letter not to let my sister tie me onto the back of the tricycle when I’m five. She’s going to careen us down our steep driveway. It doesn’t end well.
Oh, and I’d better warn myself to watch out for the corner of the laundry chute door when playing hide-n-seek with the glow-in-the-dark ball. If I don’t, I’m going to bust my eyebrow open and Dad is going to sew it up without anesthesia!
Oh, and I shouldn’t forget to mention not to skip class in high school and go to Taco Bell with my best friend. That would keep me from wrecking into her VW bug with my dad’s car.
Younger Me, Stay in school!
Maybe I should just warn myself about every awful decision I’d make in the future—especially those I’m not going to write about. Those I don’t want to ever think about again. They created scars. Some of them deep.
But they also brought me to the end of myself and running to the grace of Christ.
But some of the scars still hurt. Bad.
But they’ve helped rub off my harsher edges.
Needing grace and receiving it, softened me. I wouldn’t want to lose that.
And my family wouldn’t want me to lose that. I’m hard enough to live with as I am.
Should I Mess with the Past?
I’ve seen the movie Back to the Future enough to know it’s risky to mess with the past.
What if I changed it and never met my husband?
And then we wouldn’t have our three incredible children or wonderful daughter-in-law and grandtwins.
No, I’m glad I can’t change the past now because there’s no freedom from pain or regret that would be worth missing out on any of them.
Would I Even Listen?
Growing up, I didn’t have a letter from Older Me, but I did have the Bible—a letter from the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:13)—and I didn’t always believe Him.
If I wouldn’t listen to the One who sees the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10), how likely is it I’d listen to my short-sighted self?
Nevertheless, if I could, I’d write a letter to Younger Me. It would just be shorter than I first imagined.
Dear Younger Me,
Trust in Jesus early and follow Him forever. Romans 10:9-10
And don’t let your heart be troubled. You’re going to go through hard times, but God will never fail you. Ever.
Your heart will lie to you and lead you into heartache and trouble. And sadly, you’re going to want to believe it over God’s Truth.
You’re going to want to prove to God you know best for your life. You don’t. You truly don’t. But He does. And He loves you. He’ll never fail you.
Memorize, believe, and live out John 14:1. “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.”
Live what you say you believe. You’ll never regret it because God will never fail you.
Believe, trust, and obey the Lord. There truly is no other way to be happy.
Love,
Older You
PS — And don’t open the cabinet door in the camper. Get your sister to do it.
What you would write to a Younger You? Share in the comments.
Jean, what a powerful and poignant post. Such wise thoughts. Definitely thought-provoking. Thank you!
Thanks Kathy! I’ve been thinking about this song for a long time. It’s helped me move past “If only . . .” into “Nevertheless, God…” and that’s a great place to be!
Love this post. Really thought provoking and causing me to dig deep! Hope you and Larry are well. Miss seeing you.
Thanks, Suzanne! This song made me think deep, too. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Larry and I are doing great. We miss seeing you and Ben as well! We’ll have to put together a reunion sometime. 🙂
Younger me would have recognized the Creator sooner and not loved the creation more than Him. I didn’t teach my children about the Lord soon enough and so they were older “8 and 7” when saved.
It’s too easy to love the creation more than the Creator, isn’t it. And I think 8 & 7 are still young to come to know the Lord. 🙂 Thanks, Jan!
Jean, I was recently sharing with my son’s girlfriend, Michelle, some of my mistakes from the past. And ya know what? My testimony brought Michelle to tears—good tears. I told her how all of those mistakes, as painful as they were, lead me to the arms of Jesus.
It’s so true. As much as I’d love to erase the pain of much of my past, what I learned about God through them, and how they drove me deeper to Christ, makes it all worth it! Thanks, Beckie! 🙂
Jean, such a beautiful post. I love how you came full circle. 🙂 CCC helped me do the same thing and let go of some “Dear Younger Me” things.
Much love,
Julie
Thanks, Julie! It feels good to let go of the Dear Younger Me things, doesn’t it! 🙂
Best part is have your sister do it.
I could not write to my younger self but you did an amazing job.
If you believe then you have all you need.
Thank you, DJ! Love your comment: If you believe then you have all you need. Amen!