Has anyone heard of this book yet? It's a collection of letters from different people, from all different walks in life, writing letters to their 16 year-old selves.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm all about the sovereignty of God and I believe whole-heartedly that God has used each of my past experiences to bring me to where I am today... but... this book did get me thinking.
Knowing what I know now, what would I tell my immature-dramatic-naive-16 year-old self?
And in no time at all, I found myself jotting down these 16 things to my 16 year-old self:
1. It's not about you. And it's all about Him.
2. I know you're more worried about what's going on in school right now than spending time with your family, but one day, you'll want nothing more than to be with them. Cherish the moments you get to sit around the kitchen table laughing at your hilarious brothers, making fun of your corny dad and cooking with your mom.
3. Remember how you thought Naperville would always be home? Well, you're wrong. Start putting down roots in your relationship with the Lord. He's the only place that you'll be able to consistently call home.
4. Forget Spanish. (You'll forget it anyway.)
5. Believe it or not, farmers still exist. And not all of them have to milk their own cows for milk. They can go to the grocery store to buy food just like you do. I know... shocking, right?
5b. And as if that wasn't shocking enough, I thought I should let you know that you'll actually end up marrying one some day (a farmer, not a cow). Take a deep breath. It's okay. He's actually pretty cute and treats you far better than you deserve. And no, he doesn't wear overalls. Give me some credit here!
6. When you go off to college, stay far far away from the self-serve ice cream machine. In times of stress you think that it's your friend, but trust me. It's not.
7. God wants all of you, not just some of you. So stop thinking that it's a sacrifice to give your hopes and dreams to Him. Because whatever you give up, He gives back 10 fold. It's actually the greatest investment you can make with your time, money and life.
8. Khun naa^ ja` rian phuut^ phaa-saa(v) thai dtoon nii/ phra waa^ khun ja` yuu thii^ bpra`-theet^ thai nai a-naa-khot/. (You'll understand when you're older.)
9. Who you go to the homecoming dance with really doesn't matter. What does matter is how you treat and love others. You're not very good at it now, but God will grow in you a love for people and their stories.
10. Don't waste time on boys. You're not ready to get married and you shouldn't spend time thinking about it yet. You'll change so much between then and now that it doesn't matter anyways. Instead, spend more time with your girl friends.
11. When your heart is broken, don't be scared of it. God sees it as one of his favorite times with you. He gets to hold and comfort you like never before--it's a sweet fellowship that will change the course of your life.
12. Do not, I repeat, do not agree to coach the freshman cheerleading team your first year of teaching. It will suck the joy (oddly enough) right out of you.
13. Stop bleaching your hair. It's not flattering.
14. When in college, stay as long as you can (change your major a few times, study abroad, fail a few classes...whatever you gotta do). No real responsibilities + lots of free time + friends within a 2 mile radius = Some of the best years of your life!
15. Your grandpa is still your favorite person in the world. Cuddle with him more.
16. One day, you'll wake up (with your blankies next to you, of course) in a strange land, next to a farmer, speaking a language you've never heard before, eating strange foods and wondering how in the world you got there. Don't panic. It's all evidence of God's goodness.
... So what about you, my friends? Is there anything you'd like to tell your 16 year-old self? As silly as this was, it served as a great reminder of the crazy, radical work God has done in my life. It makes me excited to write the "27 things to my 27 year-old self" as I anticipate God maturing my walk with Him even more in the years to come. Praise be to the One who pours out steadfast love throughout the ages!
Awesome.
ReplyDeleteSo many of these made me laugh and smile, but perhaps the one that cracked me up the most was about bleaching your hair. It always killed my mom that you would 'change that beautiful, amazing hair'. :) Apparently she knew something we didn't!! Merry Christmas to you and Steve- Love, Larissa
ReplyDeleteHow about some kudos to your Momma who laughed and cried with you through all those crazy years!! Sometimes I wonder too how you ended up on the other side of the world with your farmer boy. God has a wonderful sense of humor.
ReplyDeleteForget about Spanish?!?! So glad Dad and I toiled to put you through 4 years of college studying Spanish, enduring Costa Rica and study abroad in Spain.......
Okay, maybe Spanish wasn't a total waste. It is helping me learn Thai much easier! ;)
ReplyDeleteLOVE this!!!
ReplyDeleteLauren,
ReplyDeleteLoved reading this. My "16 things" is generally a bit more career-focused, since so much of the last few years of my life has been defined by job-searching with very little career experience in a brutal economy. No idea if I'll get to 16. Off the top of my head...
1) Companies don't care about how smart you are. They care about what specific skills you have, and what experience you have.
2) Software / mobile app development is going to be the next HUGE thing. Get extremely skilled in that.
3) Even though you've always been really interested in Wall St / stocks / finance / investing, you're going to graduate college during a financial crisis, and jobs in that industry will be nearly impossible to get. Just a heads up.
4) Give a lot more thought as to what you want your long-term career to be. Be more focused with having well-defined long-term goals.
5) Sitting at a desk in a cubicle all day can be phenomenally boring.
6) Become better friends with the nerdy kids in all those honors classes that you're in. They'll be far more interesting at 25.
7) Don't be so obsessed with dating the 'popular' or 'beautiful' girls. Give all types of girls more of a chance.
8) You're not the type of person that would be happy at a big state school. Go to a small random school with a ton of nerdy/smart people. Preferably somewhere warm, like So California (trust me, living in warm weather is amazing).
9) Don't bounce around so much: with jobs, friends, activities, a church. In particular, pick one church, get super-involved with it, and take on leadership roles.
10) Traveling really is amazing. Be more responsible with your money, and try to travel as much as possible around the world.
11) Try to start your own business, even if it's a side job while working a full-time job. Autonomy is amazing.
12) Stay more disciplined about working out. It's not as easy once you don't have cross country or track practice everyday after a normal day of high school, but it's worth it.
13) It's a lot easier to make all types of friends after high school than it is in high school. The freedom you have at 25 really is amazing. It's much easier in the "real world" to meet people that you click with than it is in high school. In other words, "It gets better". Surround yourself with people that care about helping you grow as a person and helping you reach your goals.
That's all I can think of. But I really enjoyed writing that.
Lauren, I loved this! Drew, I loved YOURS!! I'm gonna have to do this. Perhaps post it??
ReplyDelete