Letter to me.

My dear friend, Erin, blogs over at Sweetness Itself. 

The story of how I met her is such a cute & God-ordained story, 

perhaps I should share it sometime.

She wrote this past week a letter to herself, you can read her post here.

She inspired me to totally write a letter to seventeen-year old me about things I wish I would have known or done.

Dear 17 year old L,

I'm sure you feel that life can't get much better than it is right now. You feel as though all the friends you have are forever, that high school will never end and you don't want it to. You aren't sure what you want to study at college and the thought of leaving all the people you love here in this beautiful city scares you....

Let me tell you sweet girl, you will figure all these things out and so much more. Don't be afraid of where the Lord will take you. He has amazing plans for you in the next 7 years. You will enjoy life so much more than you think in the years to come. In between you will have difficult moments, but trust me you will learn so much wisdom from them and find a treasure in the Lord.

If I thought you would listen, I would tell you to stop worrying about trying to fit in at school. You won't. You come to realise this is just fine. 

I know you feel that you were insane for choosing biology, chemistry and Physics as your only classes your senior year. Don't worry you pass all of them. In fact you more than pass....yes even chemistry....

Even though you feel you aren't sure what you want to do at college. I wish I could tell you that you don't need to go straight from High School, no matter what pressures you feel from family. I wish I could tell you to work for a few years or do that YWAM dts....whatever you feel the Lord is leading you to. Figure out what you want to study before you head off to that foreign 'home' country to move to the next step in education....you figure out what you want to do...eventually....

You will feel pressure to apply to med school after graduating, you won't be accepted because that is not the Lord's plan for you. You will have the grades, but it won't be the right path for your life. So you will take a gap year even despite all the pressures around you to head to college immediately. This is a good thing, even though at first it feels like the hardest thing you have ever come across in your life....

I'm not sure I would want to tell you this....but you will fall in love this year L. And yes, he is the one. The Lord will answer your cry when you experience heartbreak from being pulled away from him when you are 19. But don't worry he comes back into your life. He is everything you think he is, girl!

You will make some wonderful friends this year, L. They are forever friends. You are right about some of them, you will still talk to them on occasion even 7 years later. Some of them will even be your bridesmaids. There are several friends who you won't see again after this year and its ok to be sad about this. But know that some amazing girls stick around....

You will have some difficult relationships in your life in the years to come girl. This grows you so much into a person who strives to love others well. They may not be resolved for a long time or ever. But know that the Lord still loves you, even when you make mistakes with them and encourages you to be accountable for your actions and not theirs....

You will have the shock of your life when you get to college. The culture shock of no longer living in the Middle East will kick-in. You will cry a lot in this new place. You will long for the days in the desert with those girls you love and that boy with the blue eyes. I assure you, you will be ok. It takes time but eventually you find amazing people in this new city too. They are wonderful people and encourage you so much....

This year I would encourage you to keep playing your flute. When you no longer having someone forcing you to play it is so much harder and requires a lot more diligence....

Don't pull any all-nighters in college girl. They aren't worth it. Make sure you start those assignments early and have them finished before the week they are due. This will be worth the sacrifice....

You will encounter what is called a dissertation while in college. You. Can. Do. It. 
And you will. Don't panic, even when half-way through the 6 months you have to write it, you completely redo everything. It will be a great accomplishment for you....I will be proud of you....

Spend time with those friends of yours in college. They are not around forever. Don't take advantage of having 2 incredible girls in your house that last year of college. They are amazing people! They will love you regardless and you will have the best year in this new city with them. They will both travel halfway around the world to see you marry that boy of yours. Someday life will get busy and they will have obligations to boys just like you. So spend more time with them....

Spend time with your sister. In a year, you will not live in the same city anymore...you will miss her. You will miss the wonderful sleepovers you have with her when her heart is breaking this year. You may not ever live in the same place as her again. You need each other more than you think....

Enjoy the small group of young girls you will teach next year. After that year, you will want to mentor young girls for years to come....

When things are going well, bad or just ok....run to Jesus L. He will sustain you and help you through so much more than you ever thought you could handle. 

Once high school finishes, you will move eight times in the next few years. This helps you figure out that your 'home' is heaven precious girl. You will adapt. Until then....enjoy your home in the desert.

When your friends want to get up and go to the beach early on saturday mornings....go with them every time. Hear me! You will treasure these memories for years. It is worth a little less sleep. 

You will see the Lord lead you to some amazing places and cross your paths with amazing people. This year you will head to Sri Lanka, next year it will Africa & India....then it will be to England. These places will stay with you forever. 

Learn from your mistakes L, Love people a lot, never lose hope, hold on to Jesus & don't lose your bubbly personality....

You will meet precious people and love them so much.
Even if some of them don't love you.
That's ok.
You have Jesus, sweet girl.
He loves you. 

Much Love,
Older You

P.S. Next year you will get the sweetest car ever!! =) 

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