Letter to my younger self...
There will be times in your life when you think the burdens are too great and you cannot survive, but you will find a way.
You will learn to overcome many obstacles in your pathway, and you will discover that, you are the one that has placed most of the obstacles there yourself.
You will learn to overcome the anger left by a childhood of abuse and neglect, and you will learn how to live without that anger as your wall and your protection.
You will learn to forgive, and you will learn that your forgiveness is more for yourself than for others. You will learn that forgiving does not mean forgetting, and that sometimes it’s better to walk away rather than to stay and fight. Everyone has their own path to walk, and at a place in time, it is no longer up to you to point the way.
You will learn that some people are for a season in your life, and some are for a lifetime. You will learn, sometime in your mid-forties, how to tell which is which, and you will ultimately find peace in this knowing.
You will meet some remarkable people along the way... many of them will share wisdom from their childhoods, wisdoms that you never learned in yours. They will be kind, and they will help. You will learn what the word “friend” actually means.
You will have your heart broken many times, but you will learn from each of these heart breaks, and you will recover.
When someone tries to make a decision for you, especially choices regarding men, ignore them. They won’t be right. Trust your own instincts when it comes to making choices that are suppose to last a lifetime. You’ll be amazed at how well you know yourself.
When people abuse the friendship you offer... move on. They’re not your friends. When others blame you for their short comings, know that you cannot “own” others actions, emotions or decisions. You can only effect your own change... no one else’s, no matter who they are in your life.
You will always like the “bad boys” and they will like you. They are not good husband material. Don’t waste your time with men you don’t want to end up with.
When you come across a quiet man that has an easy smile and nothing to prove.... he’s the one. Don’t pass him by.
You will find the love of your life, late in life. He’s been busy taking care of others before he meets you, but he’ll be done before you show up in his life. Be patient with him. He will be well worth the wait.
The road will be long, and often, very difficult. You will stumble and you will fall; but you will find the strength, deep within yourself, to get back up and keep going.