Dear Little Me

September is Blog Month for Compassion International and they have a goal to get 3,160 children sponsored before 11:59pm on September 30th.  Compassion bloggers are given a writing topic to blog about with the goal of getting children sponsored. The first writing topic is: What Would You Say to Your Childhood Self? It took me a couple days to figure out what I truly would want to say to a younger me, but I think I finally figured it out.

I close my eyes and travel back in time. I'm still quite young, so I only have to go back a little ways before my eyes open and I see a little, smiling girl before me.  She is rushing through the house in search of her mommy, face beaming, and excitement permeating her entire self. Mommy is fixing her hair in front of the bathroom mirror when the little girl finds her.

 

"Mommy, mommy! Can I ask you a question?" without waiting for an answer she rushes into her question. "Does God tell you things in dreams? He told Joseph things in dreams. Do you think He would tell me things in dreams."

 

Mommy smiles at her daughter as she puts down her curling iron. "Usually when we sleep, we dream about the things we are thinking about, but every once in a great while God tells people things in dreams. Why? Did God tell you something in your dream?"

 

The little girl nods, "I think so mommy. I had a dream about a whole bunch of little orphan children. They had no one with them. I think God wants me to go to their country and teach them about Jesus."

 

"Well, it will probably be a long time before we know for sure, but I think the important thing is for you to pray about it and to pray for those little children you dreamed about."

 

The little girl nods her head. She runs to her room, kneels by her bed, bows her head and silently prays. Her faith is childlike, but strong. Her trust is simple, but steadfast. She has no doubt that God will show her the way. He is in fact her Father, her Creator. He has never let her down. She prays with passion and earnestness. Then she gets up, satisfied with her prayers and confident in her Savior, but wishing with everything in her that she could just grow up a little quicker.

 

To that little girl I would say,

 



"Dear Little Me,
Don't grow up too fast.

Don't waste away your life wishing for the next thing.

What you are here and now is precious in God's sight. He can use your little life right now, just the way you are.

Your gifts are just like the little boy's loaves and fish that Jesus used to feed 5 thousand. He can take your dreams and hopes, and can turn them into beautiful things for His glory.

Don't every forget that!

You are beautiful in His sight because you are His. You do not have to be someone else for God to use your life.

As you grow, don't ever stop being who God made you to be.

 Others will try to change you.

Circumstance will threaten to shatter your dreams, but don't ever stop being the joyful, trusting, faithful girl God made you.

He will never let you down.

He is faithful through all the ages."

 

 

 

Even though it really wasn't that long ago, it seems like ages since I was that little girl. I could not wait to grow up, but now I look back and strive to have the childlike faith I had back then. God used my life then and He is using my life now. Through Compassion I am able to help other young children that otherwise might not have the opportunity to be taken care of, but more importantly, to be taught about God's great love for them. God can use each of their precious lives in ways that we can't even imagine!