A Letter to My Younger Self by Sandra Rafuse

Dear Sandra, 

I am thinking of you right now. I am thinking of all the years you will spend living in the world while you are also of the world with no knowledge of what either word really means. Oh, the wonderful sales you will find, the endless knickknacks you will accumulate, the delight you will take in shopping for hours to find bargains on items you don't need, all so they can sit in your closets and on your cupboard shelves and you can look at them and think, they are mine, mine, mine! You won't recognize the selfishness and greed that was in you then. It won't be until you accept Christ as your Lord and Saviour that your mind and eyes will be opened and you will understand and see. 

When you accept Christ, the Holy Spirit will come to live in your heart. He will be your teacher and he will help you grow in getting to know Jesus Christ. You will learn to trust him. What a difference he will make in your life! The desire to buy and accumulate possessions will begin to fade and fall away. You will realize when walking in a mall, that while you will still notice the FOR SALE signs everywhere (you might even walk over and take a look at the offerings), the impulse to purchase them will no longer be there. The words thank you, God, will rise up in you time and time again. Thank you, God, for setting me free.

Then there will come a day when you will say to the Lord, "Show me what I was like," and you will mean it. You will want to know what kind of person you had been all those years before you accepted Christ. What you had said or not said, what you had done or not done, who you had helped or not helped, you wanted to see what God had seen. And he will respond to your request: he will show you what you wanted to know. Maybe not immediately, but soon enough. 

You will be walking down the street and suddenly you will remember a time when you said some unkind words to a friend and your heart will suddenly feel cold and you will say to the Lord, "I said that?"

You will be driving somewhere and the memory of an occasion when you had been selfish or critical or judgmental of others will fill you with regret and you will say to God, "I was like that?" 

You will be hiking along a dirt road and you will stop dead in your tracks. Tears will start gathering in the corners of your eyes because God will have shown you something you have always been ashamed of, something you've always wished had never happened, and you will sorrowfully say, "Forgive me, Lord. Please forgive me." "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9 NIV)

And because God is always gracious and kind, he will forgive you. He will let you see what kind of person you had been but he will also remind you that you are a new creation in Christ and you will remember that you have been washed clean of your sins and you are entirely new.  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" (2 Cor 5:17 NIV)

Sandra, the years of living in the world and being of the world will be many. When you finally do not belong to the world, you will belong to God. Seek him with all your heart. 

There will be several years where you will not have enough contact with your immediate family. Reach out to them. Accept them as they are. 

"Go often to the house of thy friend, for weeds choke the unused path." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson   Treasure your friends. Go and visit them. You need each other.   

There will be difficult times as you enter your later retirement years. When they come, and as they are there, remember God's words to you. "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10 NIV)

Blessings on you, my dear.

 

Sandra Rafuse lives in the small town of Rockglen, Saskatchewan, with her husband, Bob, a Gordon Setter named Sadie, and a Peregrine Falcon named Peet. She is a retired elementary school teacher, an amateur writer and is thoroughly enjoying having the opportunity to share what God has been teaching her through her life experiences.

 

    

 (Top) Image by Anisur Rahman on Subsplash

A Letter to My Future Self by Gloria Guest

The first questions I have when I think of you: Who are you now? How old you are? How are you feeling? Are you happy?

Happiness is elusive though and your present and past selves have certainly learned that. It comes and goes based on life circumstances, unlike joy that remains deep inside in spite of them. My present and past selves are no expert on joy either though…I’ve had it at times…but I’ve struggled so much to hold onto it.

But let’s stick with you…my future self. You too seem elusive. Why then do I choose to write to you? Maybe because I’ve written a lot about my younger self and some about my present, but never about you, my future. Setting goals has never been my strong suit but if I’m to connect with you, from the place I sit in the present, I sort of need to set some. How else can I even begin to imagine who you might be? Or help you be who you want to be? Sandi Somers's post, writing about how she wrote to her future self, and asking herself some key questions, was a big help to me. I’ve attempted to answer those questions myself. Thanks Sandi.

‘What would I attempt if I were sure the Lord were with me infusing me with wisdom, love courage and strength?’ Big question. Short answer is that I would attempt to finish that memoir that has been hanging around in my life since around 2005.

‘What obstacles seem to be standing in my way?’ Well that’s easy. It’s me. My fear specifically. And the specific things I need for God to give me beyond the courage and wisdom that Sandi mentions to help me, is less of me and more of Him.

The steps I need to take? Oh right. There are steps. This is where I stumble. I look too far ahead. Fear of what others will ‘think’ of me. Fear of how family will respond. Fear is likely my first big step I have stumbled on over and over again. My memoir is a complicated story of family dysfunction and abuse, festering wounds that led to my mother’s early death and a sister's suicide; a lifelong difficult journey of healing for myself. It’s not comfortable but still a story I think needs telling. Some voices do not quiet down until they are told. I had no voice as a child and my sister didn’t either.

Here in my memoir I attempt to blend her voice with mine and God's redeeming love with the painful fact that some things aren’t fixed this side of heaven. Back to the steps though…

-One day at a time….I can write for ‘now’ without thinking about the ‘future’. Someday perhaps the now will meet up the future when I ever get it published. Focus on the now.

-Schedule a writing time for just ‘memoir’ writing preferably once a week. If I can’t write on my memoir I can journal.

-Journal every day. That is where the best ‘stuff’ of memoir comes from; free flowing thought even if it’s from other places and happenings.

-Prayer. This memoir will never happen without prayer, and I have lacked in that department. Perhaps I think that if I don’t pray, I won’t have to do it. But God’s promptings to write are steadfast. I need to pray. And perhaps have others pray with me. Spiritual warfare as our family has found out in the last couple of years is very real.

‘How is the Lord prompting me now to step out in risk?’ This very letter has been the prompt I needed. In the past few years I’ve slipped back into depression and have allowed a lot of my motivation to slide downhill. I’ve read and learned much about depression in my past and understand just how complicated it is, with no easy answers. Yet sometimes I read something that connects with where ‘I’ am at and believe to be true about ‘me’. One thing I read was when we aren’t living true to our self and aligning with the purposes that God has placed on our hearts, depression often then comes in the door. That rings true for me in this time and in this place….

So dear future self; as you’ve stepped forward into the purpose that you believed God has set before you, you were not alone. Every battle you have fought in your past has produced a strength and resilience in you that drew on to write what you were called to. In my present I smile to think of you lowering your pen deep into the ink well of God’s grace and mercy; laying by the green pastures and still waters He has prepared for you as you write the tough stuff that has forged you into who you are. You lean heavily on your Shepherd who you understand now has many times left the one hundred to find you; clinging to the side of a cliff or deep in a hole; but He’s always found you and brought you back. I believe you understand more than you do now how He loves you with a Father’s love. You are His and He alone carries you now, your present, and your past yet.

“His mercies are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:23)

Gloria writes from a small prairie town in southern Saskatchewan; coming full circle back to her husband's home town where they farmed for many years. She refers to herself as a bit of gypsy due to her many moves to various towns, cities, and provinces throughout her lifetime and draws from those varied places and experiences heavily in not only her memoir writing but other genres too. She loves the prairie crocus and sunsets and sunrises, the grandeur of the northern Alberta forest, the charm and quaintness and beautiful rivers of her southern Ontario roots.

Dear Twenty-Year-old Me by Mary Folkerts

 

Dear Almost-20-year-old me,

Oh girl, if only this were possible. That fifty-some year-old me could go back in time to share some advice and encouragement with you. After the initial shock of how we’ve aged, I hope you'll hear my words and take them to heart.

🌸

Girl, you are loved! Don’t be so concerned about people’s opinions of you! Embrace your uniqueness and be you. You don’t need to be like the girls in the magazines or the best friend who is outgoing and has all the friends. Be you. And be confident that the One who made you created you precisely as you are for a purpose! His eye was on you from conception, and He sees you. He knows all the bumps and bruises and loves you fiercely. Learn to trust God's love!

🌸

Don’t be self-centered. Think of yourself less (NOT think less of yourself). Learn early to give a helping hand without an incentive.

🌸

The counseling you attempt to sit through and don’t apply yourself to? Do it. Do the hard work of understanding yourself, and when you are my age, you will thank me! Don’t be so consumed with “oh, I’m the only broken one. No one wants someone with so many issues that needs counseling”. Everyone has broken pieces, girl; we’re just all broken differently. The benefits of speaking through and untangling life's knots are immeasurable. Get the tools you will need to help you navigate your way through the ups and downs.

🌸

Shame and guilt are two different things. Guilt is “I did something bad,” and God forgives and restores you from that. Shame is “I am bad”, and this thought is not from God. It’s a lie that will ensnare you and keep you stuck in self-deprecation.

🌸

That advice that the older, more experienced friend gives you? Don’t shrug it off as if you know better. You could save yourself a lot of heartache if you take heed!

🌸

I hate to say this part, but here it comes. You think that once you’ve found the man of your dreams, once you’ve settled down into marriage, that life will be complete. Don’t be fooled. There will always be “the next thing” you add to your “if only” list. Learn to enjoy life now! You know that saying, that someday TODAY will be the day you look back on fondly? It’s true. Be in the now. Don’t think that life will be better when—(Side note: the man of your dreams? It turns out that dreams change, and what you thought you wanted won’t be as important as what God knew you needed).

🌸

Nothing will ever be perfect. Perfection is highly overrated and unattainable. It will, in fact, derail you if you keep those tendencies up. Allow yourself to learn how to say, “I did my best, and that’s good enough.”

🌸

Grow your faith. Build a solid foundation underneath you. Know what you believe, and surround yourself with friends who will help you stand firm. You will need it as you get older. I don’t want to spoil all the surprises for you, but there will be things that come that will shake you to the core. Learn early to trust in the God who knows everything about you and still loves you completely.

🌸 

Endings are painful, but they can become new beginnings if you turn them on their head. Perspective is key!

🌸

Life doesn’t have to be easy to be good. Difficulties in life are the rule, not the exception. God never said that He would give you a life without trouble, but He did say He would be with you THROUGH the trouble. Make sure you walk with Him when the sun shines, so you don’t have to frantically search for Him when it rains.

🌸

Don’t feel obligated to dwell on every thought that passes through your mind. You will find that the negative, untrue thoughts will lead you down a sad road. Train your brain early to do what the Bible says, “Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.” (Proverbs 4:23 NCV)

🌸

Good habits are good, and bad ones are hard to break. Begin now! There will come a day when you wish you had made more effort to develop the good ones and to break the bad ones.

🌸

Don’t waste your time. Time becomes more precious the older you get. Value it, use it well.

🌸

And one more thing—
Use sunscreen on your face,
and oh—
easy on those potato chips.

Love your more experienced, more mature, still learning, still stumbling, but grateful fifty-some-year-old self.

Mary Folkerts is mom to four kids and wife to a farmer, living on the southern prairies of Alberta, where the skies are large and the sunsets stunning. She is a member of Proverbs 31 Ministries' COMPEL Writers Training, involved in church ministries and music. Mary’s blog aims to encourage and inspire women and advocate for those with Down Syndrome, as their youngest child introduced them to this extraordinary new world. For more inspiration, check out Joy in the Small Things https://maryfolkerts.com/ or connect on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maryfolkerts/

Dear Brenda by Brenda J Wood

Dear Brenda,

There she is! The same name as me! The same colour 
hair as me!

The same middle initial as me! The same weight as me
and even the same birthday month as me.

She must be me! We both write and we both publish.

We both read the same type of books! We both want to
lose twenty pounds!

She must be me! We are both widows. We lived in the
same area! Surely, she is me!

But she is not me.

She is the me who fantasied about losing twenty pounds
and living

with perfect children and a doting husband. Those days
are past…well except for the

warm climate which never did. (Oops, and that twenty-
pound thing!)

Instead, my husband died and the children have flown the
coop.

That Brenda has to make it on her own now and she does.

But that other elusive Brenda? She lives in the Azores.
She found me

because of something I wrote twenty-five or thirty years
ago. Everything I said about

her is true! We are like twins in so many ways. And this is
how she found me.

Like many others, I wrote for the devotional page
PresbyCan.ca, from May 25, 1996, to March 31, 2025.

Eventually editor Robin Ross organized those 10,441
devotionals into a low-maintenance project.

Now five writings appear daily in our mail boxes.

We still comment, enter our prayers and more but the
writings are all oldies, but goodies.

My other Brenda found me because of a certain
devotional.

I searched it by my name and date of the piece.
Immediately it popped up.

I am writing all this to tell you to be careful what you put
out online. It never goes away.

It is still there. Make it a good one! Nothing lasts forever?
Don’t kid yourself.

from Brenda

(Top) Image by Ron Lach on Pexels

Brenda J Wood has authored more than fifty books. She is a seasoned motivational speaker, who declares the Word of God with wisdom, humour, and common sense.