Dear Younger Me

(I was inspired to write this because of the song "Dear Younger Me" by MercyMe)

Dear 16-year-old Amy,

I'm not going to ask you how you're doing because I already know. More than that, I know you wouldn't tell me the truth even if I did ask. You hate how you feel, and you don't want anyone to know the truth, but I know. I know what you're thinking, I know what you're planning, and I want you to stop. You do still belong here. So, based on a current popular series and how many years it's been since I was you, here are 13 reasons why you need to combat the lie that your life is no longer worth living.

1. This pain won't last forever: I know that right now, it feels like you will never be happy again, but you will be. The pain you're feeling right now is temporary, but the solution you're considering is permanent.
2. You are awesome: I know you're not feeling this way now, but it's true. Behind the glasses and the frizzy hair is a really cool person, who will only get cooler as the years go by. There's a reason you have such awesome friends right now, and it's because you are awesome too.
3. You're not worthy, but that's okay: I know very well that feeling unworthy is the whole reason behind your plan, but being unworthy is not the end of the world. In Romans 3:23, it says that "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." and in 5:8, it states: "God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us." Yes, you are unworthy of God's love, but so is everyone else. If we were worthy on our own, there would be no need for Christ's sacrifice. He died for your sins so you don't have to.
4. You have a great heart: You are feeling crushed by Grandma's death right now, but the depth of your sorrow just proves the depth of your love for her. You have an amazing capacity for loving others, even those that are hard to love. There will be a time in your future where you will be weeping about how much you're going to miss a student who was prone to violent fits of rage because you could see the beauty of his potential, and you knew you would no longer be able to help him achieve it. You'll even sponsor a child halfway around the world so that he can break the cycle of poverty in his life.
5. People love you: Not only do you have a great capacity for loving others, but you have a lot of people who love you. Mom and Dad love you, the rest of our family loves you, your friends love you, and Angel loves you. Not only that, but there are people you haven't met yet who will grow to love you. Since you are such a loving person, people are drawn to you and can easily grow to love you.
6. God's with you: He has never left you and He never will. He can help you face whatever you may face, and He will help you win this fight.
7. You're a great writer: All those things you're writing in your classes are just the beginning of what you're capable of. Your writing will touch people's hearts, especially when you read it out loud. You have a great talent that you are just beginning to discover.
8. You have undiscovered talents: At this point in your life, you have never picked up a crochet hook, and have only unsuccessfully picked up knitting needles, but that will change. In the future, you will find yourself not only knitting and crocheting with abandon, but even designing your own crochet patterns.
9. There are great things coming your way: Right now, you are just learning how to drive, and although it's hard now, it will become easier, and you will grow to really enjoy it. In two years, you will go off to college, and there you will meet great friends and have a great experience. While student teaching won't work out the way you'd hoped, it will open the door to becoming a para at a great elementary school, and reaching out to numerous kiddos who need the love that you provide them. Not only that, but you will go on three international trips in the next 11 years, one of which is to the set of Star Trek Beyond in Vancouver, where you will get to meet almost all of the principal cast. By this point in your life, you have hugged and joked with major movie stars!
10. God has great plans for you: I touched on some of them already, but there are others that I don't even know yet. Jeremiah 29:11 states: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." He has amazing plans for you, plans that can't be realized if you end your life now.
11. Satan hates you: While I don't yet know all the plans God has in store for you, unfortunately Satan does. That's the only reason he is trying so hard to silence you. He knows your potential for undermining his regime, and he wants to stop that from happening in any way he can.
12. You will inspire others: You know how right now, you look at some of your friends and think, I wish my faith was as strong as hers? There will be a time when others will say that about you. Getting through this hard time will make you stronger, and your strength will inspire others in their hard times.
13. Your story will bring others to Christ: There is no better witness to our Savior than someone whose life was literally saved by Him. People will want what you have, and you want them to have it as well. You will have an amazing testimony that will invite others into the kingdom of Heaven, and show them the path so they can enter it.

I know that you will defeat the lies and listen to the truth because if you didn't, I wouldn't be here to write to you. I've enjoyed what your future has held so far, and I am excited to discover what our future still has in store for us.

Sincerely,

Your 29-year-old self