A Letter to 16-Year-Old Me by Susan Barclay

 

Dear Sixteen-Year-Old Me,

You thought you would go to Sweden on your own this year. Ha! You’ll be fortunate if you get there before you’re too old to go. But put your mind at ease: 16 is far too young to go hotfooting around the globe on your own. And one day you’ll have a son who’s interested in Sweden, too. Maybe you’ll go together!

You also thought you’d be married by the time you’re 23. Nope. You won’t even seriously date until you’re almost 25. And then you’ll waste time on a commitment-phobe. Afterwards you’ll tell yourself, and you won’t be wrong, that no time is wasted if you learn something. You do learn something: never pass yourself off as someone you’re not to try to fit someone else’s mould. Even if you’re not perfect (see next paragraph), yourself is actually pretty great. God made you, right? He doesn’t make junk.

You know what else? Twenty three is pretty young to get married. It won’t seem so as you watch many of your peers marry sooner than you do. But comparison is the thief of joy, peace, and contentment. If I could give you a timely word of advice, I’d say don’t play that game. When you marry, you’ll choose someone who shares your beliefs and values, who’ll stick with you through all the ups and downs. He won’t be perfect. Big secret, neither are you (despite being pretty great – see above). It’ll be worth the wait to have a God-fearing person with whom to do life.

You’re already working in a library and that’s where you’ll spend your career. You’ll never lose your love of reading, acquiring books, and doing readers’ advisory. It’s parallel to the work you really want to do as a writer but it’s stable and more readily pays the bills. Sadly, you won’t develop good writing habits while you’re young and carry them throughout the busy life headed your way, but it’s never too late to start, or to start over. That applies to many things, not only to writing.

You’ll have two children, a girl and a boy. You’ll love and raise them as best as you know how. They’ll both walk away from God and the foundation you’ll raise them on. Don’t worry, though. Their salvation never depended on you. It’s the Holy Spirit’s job. Their journeys are their own. Those journeys will be a lot more mind-blowing than yours, but He’s got them just like He has you. He is faithful. You’ll learn to depend on Him and you’ll grow in Him. You’ll find He’s right there in the fire with you. He’s working, even when you cannot see. I have seen my faith made sight, so I know that this is true. He never stops working.

You’ll question some of the decisions you'll make, whether different choices would’ve produced different (better) results. Remember that hindsight is 20-20. Let go of regret and wishful thinking. You’re not one to rashly follow a path. You’ll do your homework; sometimes you’ll remember to pray about it. God won’t always make everything perfectly clear and you’ll go in a direction perhaps you shouldn’t have. Life is full of ups and downs. God gave you a free will and knew the decisions you would make. He works ALL things together for your good because you love Him and are called according to His purposes (ref Romans 8:28). He loves you and accepts you.

God loves you unconditionally, just like He loves everyone, but only those who receive Jesus get to spend eternity with Him. You’ve accepted Jesus already, even though at 16 you don’t have a complete understanding of what that means. You’ll understand it better by and by. The process of sanctification (transformation) takes a lifetime and that’s okay. That’s how God designed it. Receive His forgiveness for your mistakes and forgive yourself, too. Trust Him always. Cling to Him in times of trouble. He will see you through, and one day He will walk you Home.

Love,

Your older and wiser self

_____________________

For more about Susan and her writing, please visit www.susan-barclay.blogspot.com

Following God's Trail by Lorilee Guenter

 I stood at the trail head looking at the map, a decision to be made. Is this the path I want to hike? The map gives a general guide to what the experience will be as lakes and rivers are marked. The geography  of the area gives more clues. 

Do you know you write well? The question invited a decision. The way forward is vague, however, like on the trail others have walked this way. There are many options as faith and words combine. One trail leads to poetry, another to novels. Some trails cross over and combine many types in a "mixed geography." As with the trail, I chose to take the first steps in honing my skills.

One recent memorable hike combined forest and rock of the Canadian Shield. From the top of the rock rise, you can look over the trees and survey the surroundings. The vistas are amazing. To get there involved climbing over boulders and around trees that clung to the rock, their roots anchored in cracks and crevasses. The beauty became evident before we reached the top, but if we stopped we would only have a taste of what could be. In my writing life and in life in general, I am often tempted to stop before the top. I settle for the taste instead of the abundant feast. That particular climb we made was not easy but it was worth it. As God leads me through the obstacles that threaten to stop me, I need to look forward to what He has to show me along the way.

There is no water at the top of the rocks. The sun beat down and reflected back. The beauty, while amazing, can only be enjoyed for a short time before we must follow the path in front of us to a place of refreshment, to the still waters and green pastures (Ps. 23). The climb back down has its own obstacles. It takes trust to keep going, to continue on to the next place, to the next project God has prepared. In the descent, it was evident how the anchoring rock remains under the soil and vegetation of the forest. We can remain anchored, and indeed need to remain anchored, to have the strength to continue.

On our hike we passed through forest before and after the climb. On a hot summer day the shade of the trees offered a welcome break from the intense rays of the sun. The trail through the forest was well marked by those who walked that way before, yet obstacles remain. Roots running across the path trip the unobservant. Side trails can lead you off course. Fallen trees block the way, although hiking buddies can help each other scramble over them.

I have never undertaken a hike alone. Nor do I live my faith and writing journey alone. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses [Heb. 12:1], those who have and are walking with us. My faith and my writing are strengthened as I learn from others. They help me to throw off what holds me back as I learn from them and am encouraged by them.

Enjoying time on top of the rock

The first time we did that hike, we skirted around the overlook. We knew that there was more at the top than we had found but heat made us turn back. Before we left the area, we tried once more. As a result, we sat on the rock ridge and looked west over the forest and lake to see the beginning of the sunset, a gift of beauty. If I press on and don't skirt around the lookouts ahead of me, I have no doubt that gifts designed and given by God await.