Dear Younger Me (God Can Use You, Even Now)
Dear Younger Me,
Believe God can use you even right now, because you are where you are for a reason. You’ll find yourself saying this quite a lot, that “it doesn’t matter how old you are or how young you are to make a difference.” It’s easy to say that about other people without believing it for yourself.
It’s easy to watch any movie or show about a hero or heroine, no matter their profession, and to envy their ability to make a difference that you forget you can make a difference right where you are, too. It might not be an operating room or solving a crime, but God can use you right where you are, doing what He asks you to do. Be the one who makes a difference by staying a little longer to help clean up after practice. Be the one who chooses to sit with the girl who’s all alone. Be the one who holds the door open with a smile. I think our world underestimates the kind of difference those actions can make.
And when you feel like you have nothing to offer, remember that God put Esther in the palace at just the right time to save her people, so He’s got you where you’re needed, too. Let Him take all the things you feel make you weak into His hands and let Him work. When you get frustrated trying to turn what you see as crumbs into cake all on your own, remember God is far better at that than you are. He put the ingredients of your life together, and He knows how they go together and who you can serve.
Love,
Megan
Dear Younger Me,
Keep showing up. When you’re struggling in your place of pain, keep showing up and holding on.
You know how you love the sports you play, but you don’t like running and the sprints in practice that went along with it? When you felt like you couldn’t catch your breath or your legs couldn’t go on or any faster, you considered walking out of the gym. But you didn’t. You kept showing up, getting back on the line when the coaches had you run again. It hurt and it was hard, but as you kept going, you built endurance and you grew stronger.
In the places of pain, it’s a struggle to keep showing up, to keep meeting with God, to keep hoping. But in the words of a dear friend, “Cling to faith!” Because on the other side of your pain, you’ll see glimpses of how God worked in it. You’ll be stronger. You’ll be reminded of God’s promise that He’ll never leave you.
There is nothing else worth clinging to. In Psalm 73:25, it says, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.” When your hope muscles are hurt, keep choosing to show up. Keep fixing your eyes on Him in faith. Keep choosing to hope through the pain, and while it may not seem like it, He will help you grow stronger.
Love,
Megan
Dear Younger Me,
Believe in yourself. When you’re tempted to doubt your abilities or you think you’re not good enough, remember that God has you where you are for a reason. You need to trust the people who see your potential. In fact, because you trust them, you need to believe that what they say about you is true. Because when you finally start seeing that you really can do it, you’re going to see that confidence grow, maybe not monumentally, but little by little.
Someday someone will tell you “confidence” should be your word for the year. Knowing you, “confidence” just might be your word for life. Be encouraged though, because it’s something that I’ve seen grow in you over time. I just want you to realize you need to believe in yourself. Remember that basketball game when something clicked and you scored your highest amount of points in a varsity game? It wasn’t the Strawberry Pop-Tarts you had for breakfast. I think in that game you had the confidence you needed. I only wish you would have kept it, but I’m glad you saw you could do it.
Maybe part of your struggle is the desire to please others. You’re so worried about whether or not they believe in you that you don’t see that the only one who doesn’t believe in you is you. And ultimately, it’s God you are working for, like it says in Colossians 3:23, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”
Love,
Megan
Dear Younger Me,
As you face this new season, don’t worry about whether God will be with you. He’s always proven faithful and shown you that even in new seasons, He’s with you just as He was before. Sometimes it’s the beginning of a new year, and sometimes it’s the beginning of a new season, but at every new beginning don’t doubt God’s presence.
Some seasons look different than others – some are filled with the best of blessings, and others have brought more pain. Yet God walks with you through them all. In Psalm 23 it says, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me…” and in Isaiah 43:19 it says, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” And even though Jesus was physically leaving His disciples, He told them this in Matthew 28:20, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” He would later give them the Holy Spirit to always be with them.
Those promises are yours, too. Looking around the corner at the “new” can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be when you remember how every time you’ve been nervous for something new, God has shown up for you just as He did before.
Love,
Megan
Dear Younger Me,
Appreciate the angels. I know you wanted to be Mary in the Sunday School program for just once, and you’re kind of bummed about being an angel again, not to mention that the halo headbands hurt. But if you think about the Christmas story, angels had a pretty cool role. They got to bring such good news to each person in the story – Zechariah, Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds.
The angels’ message sent the shepherds into Bethlehem to see Jesus, which propelled them to tell the rest of the town the good news themselves. What an incredible honor! So as you perform the role of an angel, remember what their message of Christ’s birth did for each person in the story. The message God instructed them to bring would change each of their lives.
It’s a message that we need to remember, too. One thing I’ve loved being reminded of this year is that while our lives are not perfect and we are broken people, that Jesus came born as perfection to save us. He doesn’t ask us to be perfect to save us. He came knowing that we aren’t. And because of His coming and His dying for us we are covered by His perfection and being made more like Him every day.
So as an angel in the program proclaiming, ‘“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you,”’ celebrate that role of bringing the good news that changed lives about the One who came to save.
Love,
Megan
Dear Younger Me,
The bottom of the totem pole is not a bad place to be. In fact, it can be a really good thing. Remember your first year of high school basketball? Your twin got to be on JV, but you were on the freshman team, sometimes playing JV. The beauty of that year was that even though you were at the bottom, you learned so much and got so much experience that the next year they wanted you to not only play on JV but on varsity, too.
Sometimes you might be faced with a decision between two opportunities, one prestigious but with little room to grow and one less prestigious but with so much potential for you to grow. You’re not one to enjoy sitting on the bench, so I might encourage you to pick the one that leads to growth, still making sure you have carefully thought about it, of course. Don’t marry yourself to this “rule,” but I’ve found beauty in it several times!
Yet sometimes, you’re going to feel like what you do doesn’t matter. There’s a quote that says something like “Faithfulness in the little things leads to faithfulness in the big things.” I’ve also heard it said that if God called you to a job the world sees as lowly, taking a job as the President would be a step down. So do the very best you can do with what you have and where you’re at. Let God use those seasons to build your character and grow you. Because when you look back, you’ll see what a blessing those seasons were.
Love,
Megan
Dear Younger Me,
Go outside. When your parents have you do chores outside or when you’re told to play outside after school, breathe it in. There might be other places you’d rather be or other things you’d rather be doing, and you might think you are the only kids who are forced to play outside, but one day you’ll appreciate the freedom of being able to sit or go for a walk outside. I’m glad it’s never been that you’ve not liked going outside – It’s the yardwork that you don’t like. Yet, even yardwork can be good for you when you do it.
You’ll go through school or read online all the positive health benefits of being outside, but for you, it’s space to breathe. It’s space to take a break from what you’re doing to be calm as you sit, or, to direct some focused energy into the tasks at hand. Because you’re you, you’re thinking all the time, but being outside makes thinking better. And when life gets busy, you won’t always have that freedom. In fact, I think you should make yourself freer to go outside.
Yeah, pulling weeds isn’t always a beautiful thing. But it does good. And sunsets and fireflies and fresh air and sunshine are just good. God called creation good, and you have the amazing opportunity to enjoy it, so go enjoy it.
Love,
Megan
Dear Younger Me,
It’s a season of reflection, and sometimes that reflection can hurt as you think about what was versus what is or how you wish for things to be. As important as I believe reflection is, I think you need to be careful, too. You can get caught in the heartbreak of past seasons without remembering the growth that came from them.
Remember that time you had a bad dream and Mom told you to think about good things and good thoughts? While reflecting, you’ll come across those “bad dreams,” and I encourage you to not try to erase them and slap good thoughts in their places, but to remember that good came from those hard times. As you think about the good in those hard things, you can celebrate how far you’ve come, how much you’ve grown, and how God led you through those times.
Don’t let yourself get dramatic over it, as you can’t change the past. Instead, recognize that remembering hurts but rise above it and own where you are now. And I think you’ll be really proud of yourself when you do.
Love,
Megan
Dear Younger Me,
Remember Kindness Points? Mom created the system so you and your sisters would be motivated to serve each other in kindness. Looking back, I appreciate Mom’s effort to encourage kindness in us, because I wish I would have kept it up. Back then, you got too smart and were quick to find ways to serve your sisters to earn more points just so you could earn your prizes (not Mom’s ultimate goal for it at all), but my hope for you now is that you would learn that it isn’t about the prizes. God’s call to a life of service is about loving people and serving them in the ways you can to bring glory to Him, not so you can get a prize or brownie points. My hope is that you would make kindness your life, just not about the points.
Kindness and service can be hard to do because it’s not yet your natural way of living. You hate to admit it, but you can be very self-centered. I’ve been learning recently that Jesus served people in the moments where he was interrupted. Unlike Jesus, interruptions are hard for you and your to-do list and plans to handle.
I hope you learn to appreciate those interruptions because in those moments you have the opportunity to change your attitude and serve. Your plans might be derailed and your to-do list might be put on hold, but when you meet others where they are to help them, your life becomes about others instead of you. Kindness and service aren’t always about having set volunteer hours every week, because it’s a lifestyle, and there are opportunities each day to help the people around you. Hold to what it says at the beginning of 1 Corinthians 14, “Let love be your highest goal!”
Love,
Megan
Dear Younger Me,
Don’t take where you are for granted. In the unlovely moments, the routine days, or when you’re longing for more adventure, be thankful for what you’ve got now. Your life can be an adventure now. As you watch TV and scroll through social media and Pinterest boards, it’s easy to wish for a different life – one that’s Hallmark-worthy or one that’s chalked full of adventures and new sights to see.
But instead of wishing for a more adventurous life, find ways to add adventure to the life you’ve got. It might not be going on a hike to see the waterfalls of Oregon, but you can find ways to make the best memories with the people in your life right here and now. Maybe it’s putting up the Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving or eating a picnic in the backyard. Maybe it’s driving to the beach on a windy fall day or going to the farmers’ market with friends.
Before you do that though, you need to give yourself the freedom to make time. Let yourself relax a little, letting some tasks be “imperfect,” so that you can enjoy the life God’s given you. And when you look at your life really closely, you’ll see that there are adventurous, life-filled moments you’ve forgotten about. So, there’s no need to be wishing for another life when God’s already given you a beautiful one!
Love,
Megan
