If you had the opportunity to travel back in time and talk to your younger self, what would you say? Recently I took that imaginary journey and discovered the silken thread of God’s love woven through my life.
Dear Pre-born Me:
You may be a surprise to your parents but you’re no mistake. God created you and formed you in your mommy’s womb. You are “fearfully and wonderfully made,” and He has a Divine purpose for your life. And as to your parents loving a bonus baby—don’t sweat it. Their hearts will be smitten from the moment you arrive. Now that you know, try not to take advantage of them.
Dear Seven-Year-Old Me:
It’s tough to be in the hospital all by yourself when visiting hours are over and Mommy and Daddy have gone home. You’re going to experience some things that will trouble you deeply. But what you don’t see is God’s angels surrounding and protecting you. Remember when you were bleeding and didn’t know what to do? God knew. That’s why Roberta from church “just happened” to be working that shift and “just happened” to stop by for a visit the moment you started crying. It’ll get scary when your roommate, scheduled for open heart surgery before you, almost dies, but she’ll come through it, and you’ll pull through the same surgery with flying colors. Because God has a purpose for your life!
Dear Junior High Me:
I get it. Confirmation is awkward for junior high kids—especially when you’re called up in front of the whole congregation to affirm your commitment to God and to the church—whatever that means. At least your back was to the audience. As the kids standing beside you giggled and squirmed, you sent up an awkward prayer to—you weren’t sure who. “Yes, God. I’ll help you.” (As though God needed your help.) But it was sincere even if it was cast abroad like a note in a bottle bobbing in a sea of uncertainty. You’ll forget about that prayer for a few years, but God won’t. That seemingly insignificant step toward Him will set in motion giant cogs in the heavenlies. Stay tuned. You’ll love the outcome.
Dear High School Me:
Be thankful your parents are encouraging you to wait for college to date and have boyfriends. You’re going to have to wait a few years, but you prince is coming! Meanwhile, stop wasting time in front of the TV! Do your homework! Practice piano! Keep writing! Go out with your friends more! If your mother won’t tell you, I will!
Dear College Freshman Me:
I know life as an agnostic seems pointless and devoid of meaning. You’re right. It is. But don’t despair. The bottle has been plucked out of the ocean and the note read. Keep praying, “God, if there is a God, show yourself to me.” I know you’ve studied all the major religions and you’re open to them all, but you’re going to be amazed at the One who answers and how He does it.
Dear College Senior Me:
You came to get an education, but you’ve been in God’s classroom. You’ve learned things here that you’ll never get college credit for. God has built a foundation of faith in you that will serve you for the rest of your life. And as for that young man, he’s not right for you, Karen. Let him go. He may be good, but if you’ll just hold on and trust Him, God’s best is coming.
Graduate School Me:
You came here to get a Master’s degree, not an MRS. But it’s only natural to long for a lifelong mate. You lie in bed at night yearning for the warmth of a husband’s body beside you. You say to yourself, “There are 700 men in this seminary and only 50 women—and there’s still not ONE man I’m interested in! What’s wrong with me?” There’s nothing wrong with you, honey. God’s keeping you for the right one—and he’s coming sooner than you think.
Dear Young Married Me:
You saw that woman verbally abusing her children in the grocery store and wondered, “Why does she get to have kids and I don’t?” You feel the despair of an empty womb. Trust your Heavenly Father. He’s going to fill it twice. And each pregnancy will be a miracle But on His schedule, not yours.
Dear Middle-Aged Me:
Your husband says it well: When your children are little they sit on your lap; when they’re older they sit on your heart. Don’t worry. God loves them more than you do. Your prayers over the years will bear fruit, even though now your heart aches for them. In the meantime, keep contending–but trust God for the outcome.
Don’t worry about your parents, either. It’ll get a little rough in their final years, but trust God. Take it a step at a time. You’ll see His hand in the end.
Dear Contemporary Me:
You’re on the cusp of a new frontier—the uncertainty of—dare I say it?—old age. Ahead are roads untraveled and, no doubt, hazards along the way. The outcome is uncertain, but you can be sure of one thing—God, who has been there for you from the beginning, forming you in your mother’s womb, and through your younger years, protecting and guiding, comforting and fulfilling his purpose for you, will be there in the end.
Remember his promise to you your freshman year of college when you came to the end of yourself and cried in despair, “God if there is a God, help me?” Jesus Christ surrounded you with His Presence, let you know that He was the ONLY way to the Father, and promised you, “I will never leave you.”
That promise hasn’t changed.
May God give you the courage to face the future by seeing His hand in your past.
