A Letter from the Future

I re-read the what to blog about suggestions on Facebook today while trying to come up with a blog...and randomly decided to write about one of them - a letter from my future self (thanks, Scott, for the suggestion).  Should be an interesting experience, at the very least.

Dear Emily,

I wish you could see me right now.  I know you've got a lot on your plate.  I know you're concerned about a lot, and you hate not knowing what the future will hold.  I know there are pieces of your story you don't tell easily, but please trust me when I tell you -it's better here than you ever dreamed.

Remember how, sitting on the couch that night trying to find something to blog about, you wondered if it was worth doing at all?  Don't give up.  The blog is just the first step - and it will be important as you really get serious about your writing.  I'll warn you now,  you aren't going to write every day; but the blogs you do write are important - more to you than to your readers.  Keep doing it, even when you don't want to!

The next few years are going to be full of highs and lows, but don't let the lows get to you too much.  You know it makes your mom worry even when there's  nothing to worry about!  Over the next few years you will realize that you're braver and stronger than you think.  I know you want to know the future; but take comfort in the not knowing.  The experiences are all that much more beautiful because you didn't know they were coming.  If I told you everything now, you'd miss out on so much.

The most important thing you have to remember is to be true to yourself.  Remember that poem, "Desiderata" that your dad had hanging in his house?  You never forgot it, and it will keep shaping you, along with your deep affection for your Creator.  You will keep growing in your faith, and you will find that it will give you a lot of peace, even when it's cold and dark and the winter seems like it's never going to end.

Keep loving yourself.  Hold tight to your family; your love will just continue to grow through the years.  You have a really good life.  I can promise you now that it's not the life you expected it to be, and it's not the life you're envisioning right now.  But, it's a good life.  You will travel, you will act, you will love.  You will leave an impact on the world.  It may not be in the way you expect, but you are an important part of a bigger story.

Wherever you are right now, know that you are special.  You are loved.  You are uniquely you and no one can take your place.  Embrace the not knowing, but keep praying for those things that you desire deep in your heart.  I promise, the prayers that you consider most important are answered - and the answer is worth waiting for.

Keep smiling, dear one.  Some day, I promise you will look back at this very moment and have to laugh.

Love,