Listening to this current song out on the radio right now “Dear Younger Me” by Mercy Me, has had me contemplative of late. What would I say to the younger version of myself? What would I say to the pre-Lyme version of myself? How would that translate to my kids?
For your viewing pleasure, I’ve included a photo of the innocent pure younger me and the very much not so innocent version of younger adult me.
Well, here goes……
Dear younger me,
It will be very difficult for you to understand some of the things I’m writing in this letter because they will seem not very fun or too hard or that apply to someone else, but they all are about you. Not just emotional you, but physical and spiritual you as well. Read them over and let them marinate. Put this letter in a place that you can relate back to it or that you will read every year at least once. As you begin to gain wisdom and insight the letter will begin to have meaning and take shape as a guidance for living your life.
1. You are mortal. You only live once. So, while some will take “you only live once” to mean that you throw all caution to the wind and live crazy on the edge and live it up. On the contrary, living each day to the fullest does not mean Mach 5, balls to the wall, irresponsible and crazy out of control with no moral scruples or laws to abide by. Living each day to the fullest means taking advantage of time that disappears too fast. Take the time to tell people you love them. Take the time to foster relationships. Triage your day. Prioritize and be intentional. Take time to rest and rejuvenate. Work or your career are not your identity. Be who you are first without the work. Take the time to give to people who need help in resources, time and money. It makes a difference. You can spend your whole life living for you, or you can spend your whole life living for others. You can impact this world as one small single person.
2. You only get one physical body to live that life in. The late nights, the partying, the drinking, the drugs, the “irresistable lifestyle” that you see in movies and TV is not real. If you want to live life well and strong and be functional to the end, the best chance you have is to invest well in the physical body you have been given. Tobacco, fatty foods, chemicals, dyes, fast food, soda and junk food are not worth the calories. You can eat well and still have indulgences. You can take care of your body and still have delicious food. You can take care of your body and still enjoy a glass of wine. Those things will not make you feel better about yourself, EVER. Find something fun to exercise your body regularly. Get active. Get fit. Feeling healthy actually feels better. Don’t try to get a quick pill to fix something, try living physically better and you will be amazed how bad symptoms will vanish.
3. You need God. The world, the media, movies, public schools, your friends and universities will tell you to just live for you. You don’t need rules, you don’t need a higher being. You don’t need a heaven or a hell, but you do. Without God’s rules to live by, this world would be (and is becoming more so) a scary place to live in. Having a Savior who loves you enough to die for your sins matters. Having a God who desires for your life to make an impact and reflect His glory and love matters. Knowing that God created and controls the universe and everything in it matters. When everything is stripped away and there is nothing that remains, God is there and it matters. We are not in control of anything on our own. Having a spiritual anchor for the ups and downs of life is very important. The ups and downs will come, hardship will come and I guarantee you that they are easier to endure with Jesus than without.
4. You must love yourself. Listen to the voices in your head. What you say to yourself makes a difference even if its not out loud. Try standing in front of a mirror and saying “I love myself”. They say out loud 5 things you love about yourself. Say “I am worthy to be loved”. If this is hard to do, then you must do it more often. When we tear ourselves down on the inside then we cannot fully love others or care for others or be the best version of yourself you can be. Ignore the voices around you that do not build you up and run away from those people at all costs. You cannot truly love yourself if the people around you don’t build you up and love you fully either.
5. Its not about you. Your actions matter and affect all those around you. This world is spinning in orbit in an infinite universe on a little blue planet with over seven billion people. Just like you can make a positive impact on the world like Mother Teresa and George Muller (read their biographies by the way), you also need to realize that this world and everything in it was not created for little old you. You need to feel insignificant at times to understand the big picture. You have a part in the big picture, but you are not center stage. Some of the most important jobs in a play take place way before the show starts behind the scenes.
6. Don’t spend time judging or comparing. Sometimes in life we choose a path, or so it seems that a path just is chosen for us. You play with the cards you are dealt. That might be life without a parent, sibling, money, or it might mean divorce, disability, or disease. You can’t change what you can’t change. Its your attitude and how you decide to live with those circumstances that matter. If you spend time looking left and right at what others do and don’t have, you will never be able to look forward and succeed where you are. You get the opportunity to bloom where you are planted, not in someone else’s yard, but in your own.
7. Character matters. Work on the matters of the heart in regard to good character every day of your life. What you practice every day will be perfected so that when it is needed it is ready to be used well. Even with good practice everyday, using and maintaining good character when a storm of life comes is difficult. Its easy to slip into self preservation and lash out at others when you are sick, exhausted or down on your luck. Learn from these moments. Retreat and seek spiritual strength. Balance yourself emotionally and breathe.
8. Listen to your own voice of wisdom. About your health and healthcare, do your research. Be your own advocate. Fight for your family and loved ones. Stand up and be counted. You have been given gifts, insight, discernment from the Holy Spirit and intuition. Use them. Listen to them. There will be moments, especially if you serve Jesus, where you will feel all alone. You will feel you are the only one on your path. The only one who values honesty and truth. You will feel the need to belong to this world. You are not a part of this world. God planted eternity in your heart to belong to Him in heaven. That is the wisdom of the still small voice deep in your soul when you listen to it. Listen to it. Practice listening to it everyday.
9. Don’t blow your resources. This applies to friendship, marriage, schoolwork, jobs, your physical health and money. Be a good steward of all you’ve been given. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. That is a universal that we will never understand this side of heaven. Use what you have wisely. All of it. Don’t waste your health feeling like you will always have it, you won’t. Don’t waste your education and mind, someday you might have Alzheimer’s. Don’t blow your relationships, because in the end, you won’t care about the couch and the big screen TV, but your family and friends will matter.
10. Love God, love people, love yourself. Simple.
Blessings and healing,
Janice Fairbairn – The Lyme Evangelist
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