I recently wrote a letter to a sweet girl who just turned 12; I babysat her and her older brother throughout my high school years. It turned out more like a top-ten list than an actual letter, but includes some of the most important lessons I've learned in my long young life. Enjoy!
10 Things Every [Young] Woman Should Never Ever Forget
Let God teach you how to trust Him. Psalm 146:3 says “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.” Even the most wonderful Prince Charming is not perfect and cannot complete you. When you allow yourself to truly trust God, you will be able to appreciate your Prince Charming and not resent him for his imperfections.
Be yourself as hard as you know how. Don’t change yourself to meet the expectations you believe others have of you. God created your mind, body, and personality exactly the way they should be. To change yourself is to tell God He made a mistake creating you, which is impossible, so learn to love what God created in you!
Make friends with your emotions. There will be many times when you will feel like you’re going crazy with all the feelings that come with adolescence and womanhood, but when you can see them for what they are, allow yourself to completely experience them, and let God walk with you through them, you will be able to maintain your sanity.
Find out what your purpose is and embrace it. When you find out what you were created for, you won’t be happy doing anything else. Take the time to discover the things you love to do and take every opportunity to do them!
Don’t feel guilty for protecting yourself. Henri Nouwen wrote “Never allow yourself to become public property, where anyone can walk in and out at will. You might think that you are being generous in giving access to anyone who wants to enter or leave, but you will soon find yourself losing your soul.” (The Inner Voice of Love) This goes for relationships with friends and romantic relationships. Set boundaries for yourself and maintain self-respect at all times. You are worth it!
Don’t lie to yourself. Or at least recognize when you are. There are few skills more important than learning how to be honest with yourself. You will have no hope of being honest with others until you are honest with yourself. The best place to acquire this skill is in your secret place with the Lord.
Journal often and honestly. Then keep your journals and read over them at least every couple of years. You’ll be surprised how much you will learn from your younger self! Journaling is a great place to process what’s going on in your head and heart. Sometimes things come out of your pen that you didn’t even know were in your heart.
Never underestimate the power of Scripture. Before anything else, and when all else has failed, bury yourself in the Truth that passes all our understanding. On your worst days, get alone and read Scripture out loud. You will never be disappointed in the results.
Learn to enjoy yourself. You will be with yourself longer than anyone else, so you might as well enjoy it! Get plenty of alone time and find ways to love yourself.
Make life an adventure! One of my all-time favorite quotes is this: “Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘WOW! What a ride!’” Take every opportunity to experience new things and go new places!
1 comments:
You are so wise in your old age :)
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