I wanted to let you in on a letter I wrote to myself the November before last. As I re-read these words recently, my eyes welled up with tears at all God has done since this was written. I even was able to remind my heart of something beautiful God spoke to me that I had completely forgotten about. The written word is powerful, isn’t it?
November 24, 2015
“You are going to look back on this year as the one that changed it all. That journal that you wrote in over the last few months (filled with all the crazy God things) will always be your favorite one.
When you feel afraid, go read about how you allowed fear to paralyze you during that one season. Remember how God showed you that fear only has the power that you allow it to have.
When you feel discouraged, go read about the time that you realized you were only let down because your expectations weren’t set on Jesus. When your gaze is fixed on Him — when He is your prize — no discouragement can come at you.
When you feel lonely, reminisce about that time when God told you, “Hey, talk to Me.”
When that thing in front of you is ginormous, remember that your King is huge, and when you choose to make Him bigger, He will reveal Himself to You even more.
When you forget that God delights in you, remember that night He spoke so clearly to your heart that He was proud of you and was birthing something so beautiful in you.
When you don’t know what is going on or what to do, remember that time where you wrote out what you do know to be true about Jesus, and it will trump that “I don’t know” list every single time.
When you feel overwhelmed and things just aren’t making sense in your head, be reminded that making sense in your heart is all that matters.
When you feel like nothing is happening, go read about God stitching together every single detail, even when you couldn’t see it. It will make sense to you later, I promise.
Always remember that moment when your toes hit the sand that first time and you just knew — you knew with every fiber of your being that you were in the right place. If I could sum up this year in one phrase for you to always wear as a banner, I would say, “Fight for what God has dreamed for you. Keep fighting and keep making God big every day.”
Friend, I want to encourage you to write a letter to yourself recapping your year. A letter to remind your soul what God has done. A letter that talks about the good stuff, the hard stuff, the ugly stuff, the amazing stuff. Write a letter so you can look back a year from now and be amazed at God. Write a letter so you can see the areas you’ve grown in and the ones that still need work. Write a letter so you can read it to your grandkids years from now and teach them how to write their own.
You don’t have to write eloquent words, or have the best penmanship (type it), or write about every single detail. You can even make it in bullet points or use scented markers if that’s what works for you.
Just pinky promise me that you will reflect on last year and write about it. OK?
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