My Younger Self

If only.. If only I would have known that when I was young. How many times have we made that statement? There are so many things that happen throughout our lives and we often wonder, would I have done this if I knew that? As I was visiting a friend this week, I asked the million dollar questions. Why do we (mostly women) believe all the negative things said to us throughout our lives, yet struggle with being satisfied with who Christ is in us? We are easily intimidated by another person's beauty, wealth, knowledge, creativity, fitness, education, etc. The list of things that can create insecurities in us all can be extensively long.

So, I asked myself this question this morning. If I were face to face with a younger me, what would I say? What could I teach her now that I didn't know then? I think would start with telling her that I love her. I would warn her that the world is full of hurting people, painful experiences and that a lost society teaches us about who we are and what we should look like, and it's a false representation of reality and what scripture teaches us.

I would tell my younger self that she was not the guilty one behind the painful actions of other people. I would teach her to not allow others to permanently destroy her heart and mind with their actions. Then, I'd really dig into the personal details of our image and what the world calls our worth.

I would say; just because you are 16 in a size twelve doesn't mean you are not beautiful. The number twelve defines the size of your jeans, but it doesn't define who you are as a person. I would tell my younger self that a lack of higher education doesn't mean a lack of intelligence. Where one might flourish in the educational world, another flourishes and gains much knowledge through life experiences.

Education is a wonderful tool and I would encourage her to push through the hard years, but she will also gain much knowledge throughout her life as she experiences different aspects of life and to treasure each experience and learn from it. I would tell her that we are called to love ourselves as Christ loves us, not as the world defines us. I would tell her to stay hungry for truth.

I would tell my younger self that she no longer had to live her life hating herself because she's not good enough. I would tell her that she was being taught by the worlds standards and not that of Christ's. I would proudly sit with her face to face and teach her about the true gospel and the image that we are called to bear in Christ.

I would share 1 Corinthians 13 with her and teach her that if she as a child of God displayed these things and carried these attributes:

Love is patient and kind;
love does not envy or boast;
it his not arrogant or rude.
It idoes not insist on its own way;
it jis not irritable or resentful;
It does not rejoice at wrong doing,
but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things,
Believes all things,
Hopes all things,
Endures all things.

Then she would be displaying the image of Christ and there is nothing more beautiful than that. I would tell my younger self that the fear of eternity in hell is not the presence of Satan, but the absence of God's Glory. To be seen by Him, but to be cast away from His presence and His Glory is the worst thing about hell. He'll is not about Satan's control, it's the eternal place of God's wrath.

I would teach my younger self that repentance is a gift from God, because we could never experience true salvation without true repentance. I would share with her the beauty of her salvation and that her purpose and her worth is in Christ alone, and it will never be founded in earthly things. I would teach her that there's no greater love than God's love.

I think as bad as some of us may have had it in life growing up, that the world that we live in now has magnified its sinful behaviour and expectations of who they think we should be.

We need to do better. Not just for ourselves, our children, our grandchildren, but because Jesus gave us standards to live by. We are called by God. We are called to be holy as He is holy. Our salvation is not our doing. Christ has called us unto Himself, for Himself. He took our sin to the cross, he bore our pain. In return, He clothed us in His Righteousness. A Righteousness not of our own. I believe that is the standard that we should live by.

So let me ask you this: If you could sit and talk face-to-face with your younger self, What would you say? What would you want them to know now that you didn't know then?