Future Gazing- A Youth Writes to Mature Self

For the first time, I have a guest blogger stopping by and sharing some wisdom from her young self to her more mature self. Her name is Lydia Grande and I find her to be wise and insightful far beyond her years. I love her writing style and her sincerely devoted heart to God. I hope you enjoy her inspired words from her youth to her sixty year old self.

By Author Lydia Grande

It’s easy to think about what I would say if I had to give advice to my younger self. I have lived that part of my life and I know the regrets that I have. But what if I had the chance to give advice to my older self? I haven’t lived that part of my life yet. It’s a blank slate, ready to fill.

Since I am eighteen right now, I am going to try and give advice to my sixty year old self.

Dear Lydia,

Goodness, sixty years old! First, congratulations on living this long! Back in high school, you weren’t sure if you would survive high school, college, marriage, or motherhood; now you’re a grandmother and have seen a lot of life. Those things that stressed you out so long ago now seem so trivial, don’t they?

You’ve had some good times, haven’t you? From graduating college to marriage to children … you certainly haven’t had many dull moments! That leads me to ask: How did you do it? How did you keep pushing through good days and bad? How did you not run away in college? How did you meet such a great guy and end up married? How did you end up with such beautiful and incredibly different children? How did you do it?

At eighteen, sixty seems like a lifetime away, but it sure does go by fast, doesn’t it? You’ve seen a lot, learned a lot, and felt a lot. At eighteen, I have regrets, so I know you certainly have regrets at sixty. You know what though? Those regrets fade in light of the adventures you’ve been on, memories you’ve made, and the faithfulness of God that you’ve experienced. 

We serve a good God, don’t we?

I know your body often feels old, but your mind is still quite sharp. What are you going to do with it? You have stories to share and encouragement to offer, so why waste it? Write them down, share them with your grandchildren, visit the broken and encourage them; don’t waste this time. Remember how you used to say life’s short and people matter? Well, that’s still true, now more than ever.

No one is promised tomorrow, so live life as fully as you can. Kiss your husband; he’s walked with you through a lot. Call up your children to see how they are; they still need you. Hug your grandchildren; they can learn a lot from you. God put you here for such a time as this. Keep fighting all your battles on your knees and never lose sight of the hope that lies within you.

God is faithful!

Sincerely,

Your eighteen year old self