Note to my younger self.

Age 5, 1958

 Today, I write to my younger self, FOR my grands--Kellen, Gabriella, Grayson, and Gwendolyn.

I know you will all make choices about the way you live your lives, how you will invest your energy, and what kind of legacy you will eventually leave behind. I'm writing because I love you all and don't want to leave these words unsaid.

It's taken me a few years to figure this much out; were I able to send a note to my younger self, this is what I'd say... 

Know, Trust, and Serve God.
Follow Christ.
Be kind.

Act justly.

Be humble.

Lean into weakness, seek God's strength.
Think noble thoughts.
Read and reflect on history.
Be inclusive.
Love people.
Never mistake tolerance for love.
Be generous.

Invest your best in people.

Take care of your bodies.  Stay fit, alert, and cultivate mental acuity.
Teach yourself to say "I do not know."
Think God's thoughts after Him.
Be patient.
Stand up to be heard, sit down to be appreciated.
Cultivate quirky, life is more fun in the quirky lane.
Be a leader, willing to follow.
Invest in your family, you don't get do-overs.
Work hard to make other people successful.
Make mistakes. Learn from them, then celebrate them.
Wake up every day with a hunger to grow.
Be accountable.
Trust that loss isn't the end of life.
Believe that death isn't the end of eternity.  It's a portal, not a wall.
Be grateful.
Learn that God meets us in the stillness.
Embrace the things you fear. You may never master them, but then again, you might.

Finally, I pass on to you my life verse, Micah 6.8.  In it God provides us with an amazing guiding principle for our lives:  "With what shall I come to the Lord...He has told you, O man, what Is good; and what does the Lord require of you?  But to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God."   

Your choices will shape your character. 

Good character will empower you to be the kind of person God uses to make hard lives easier.

  

Making hard lives easier is a legacy that will transform your world, one needy--and often underserving, person at a time... 

This is the miraculous power of grace.

I love you all more than life, wish I could be there to see your lives play out to the "end of the race."  I'll be waiting for you at the finish line.

Do. Love. Walk.

One life to live.

Liveitwell!