Dear Younger Me

Dear Younger Me,

If I could sit down with you for just a little while, there are so many things I would want to tell you. First, I would tell you that you don't have to grow up so fast. I know you think you have to be strong. I know you've already seen things that a little girl should never have to see. But you are still a child, and you deserve to feel safe.

I wish I could tell you that life is going to be easy, but I know better now. You're going to spend a lot of years looking for love in places where you'll never find it. You're going to believe people who tell you things you desperately want to hear. And sometimes, you're going to confuse being needed with being loved.

I wish I could save you from some of the choices you're going to make. But I also know there are things that will happen to you that you never chose. And I want you to understand the difference.

There will come a time when you hardly recognize yourself. You'll look in the mirror and wonder how your life became something you never imagined it would be. You'll make mistakes. Some of them will cost you dearly. You'll hurt people you love, and you'll carry regrets that seem impossible to let go of.

But please hear me when I tell you this. Your story doesn't end there.

There's a man named Jesus. You've heard His name before, but one day you're going to come to know Him in a way you never imagined. And when you finally surrender your life to Him, everything will begin to change. Not all at once. And not because life suddenly becomes perfect. But because, for the first time, you'll understand that you don't have to keep trying to save yourself.

You're going to learn what forgiveness really means. Not just forgiving the people who hurt you, but accepting the forgiveness Jesus offers you. You're going to discover that your worth was never determined by the people who walked away, the mistakes you made, or the things that happened to you.

And one day, you're going to tell your story. All of it. Even the parts you once swore you'd take to your grave. Not because you're proud of everything you've done, but because you're no longer ashamed to tell people what Jesus has brought you through.

And here's something else I want you to know. You're going to smile again. A real smile. You're going to find a love that doesn't require you to lose yourself. You're going to learn that peace isn't something you have to chase. It's something you can find when you put your trust in God.

And you're going to become a woman who wants nothing more than to help someone else find the hope you've found.

I wish I could reach across the years and hold your hand. I wish I could tell you about Jesus sooner. But since I can't change what happened, I'll do something better with the years I have left. I'll use the life God has given me to remind others that no matter how far they've fallen, they're never beyond His reach.

And as for you, little girl, I want you to know something. I don't hate you for the mistakes you made. I'm learning to forgive you. And I'm finally learning to love the woman we've become.

With love,

The woman you never thought you'd get to be. 💗