Notes to Teenage Me (Part 2)
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October 2
Dear Diary:
I have wasted too many todays. Either lingering over yesterday: resenting, wishing, hurting, desperately wanting to go back and change my choices. Or painting castles in the sky for tomorrow: grand and glorious!
C
To Teenage Me:
You are such the idealist! Enjoy imagining what “could” be. But when you find yourself moving from “could” to “should,” beware. Regrets over what “should have happened” and expectations about “what should be happening” do nothing but waste your present.
Strengthen your faith by reflecting on how God has led and provided in the past. Look forward to your future with hope. And remember: the most important thing you will ever do is love.
The best time for love is always right now.
Your Future Self
December 21
Dear Diary…
I have wasted too many todays. Either lingering over yesterday: resenting, wishing, hurting, desperately wanting to go back and change my choices. Or painting castles in the sky for tomorrow: grand and glorious!
C
To Teenage Me:
You are such the idealist! Enjoy imagining what “could” be. But when you find yourself moving from “could” to “should,” beware. Regrets over what “should have happened” and expectations about “what should be happening” do nothing but waste your present.
Strengthen your faith by reflecting on how God has led and provided in the past. Look forward to your future with hope. And remember: the most important thing you will ever do is love.
And the best time for love is always right now.
Your Future Self
December 21
Dear Diary:
Who I am and who people see me as are two different people. That’s not unusual…no one can say that they have no fronts; no one is perfectly themselves all the time. But who I am changes so much!
C
To Teenage Me:
Some people say that the task of a teen is to “experiment” with identities until they find one that sticks. That sounds like what you’re doing: picking different people to emulate. But of course, your role models are doing the exact same thing. So everyone just keep changing based on who they are trying to be like.
Save yourself time, energy, and heartache. When you pick One unchanging focus for your entire life, and you’ll find the one true you!
Your Future Self
February 23
Dear Diary:
There are so many people in this world who live, think, and act so differently. I feel like we have few common bonds. How, then, do I relate to them?
C
To Teenage Me:
Oh kiddo, by “how do I relate to them?” you mean “how do I impress them?” don’t you?!? And the answer is simple: you don’t have to. Nobody on this earth needs to be impressed by you. You need to quit trying so hard to be impressive. It’s wearing you out.
Invite someone you don’t know to share a sandwich. Sit together. Listen.
Impressing will leave you lonely. Inviting is the key to an open-hearted life!
Your Future Self
April 5
Dear Diary:
Working in the NICU today, not 10 feet from where I sit routinely putting lab slips into charts, lies a baby in a bed that dwarfs her tiny body. Her nurse watches sadly as other nurses come by, offering a hug and saying, “Sorry about your baby.” The heart monitor bleeps irregularly, and I hurry out. I don’t want to be there when it stops.
C
To Teenage Me:
Your daddy is right when he says, “You were born on the wrong planet.” Your tender heart was created for heaven, not sad scenes like today!
Learning how to to toughen up without becoming hardened will always be a challenge for you. Sometimes, you will want to withdraw rather than risk the pain of caring.
Don’t.
Love is always more powerful than loss.
Your Future Self
Your Turn
What would you say to your “Teenage Me”?
