Oh, Dear Me.....
Missy at It's Almost Naptime posted a fun letter to herself at age 20, and I thought I'd join in
Dear Pam,
This is you. In 27 years. I know it’s 1982 and you’re not so sure you’ll even live to be 47, but you did and here I am.
See, there’s this TV show on now called LOST. Shows like Dynasty, with serial story lines, paved the way for LOST by becoming obsessions with the American people. You will become obsessed. So in the interest of casting light on the ability to travel the space-time continuum, I am reaching back some 27 years to let you in on a few secrets about what your future holds.
I’m really glad you and Ted bit the bullet and knuckled down and bought that little teeny yucky ABQ South Valley house last year. I know you thought it was overpriced at $34,000, but you’d be surprised what it did for you. It taught you the value of sweat equity. It taught you how to be creative. Last year you and Ted together made less than $10,000. In a few years, the $34,000 you paid for a house will be about the average price for a new Buick. And you'll move far away from the South Valley to Paradise Hills. I know it seems like a far drive, but you'll love it! Oh, and GM? Chrysler? They’re in trouble now. They didn’t knuckle down and stash some cash when they could. The government is giving them Billions of dollars to help bail them out. Billions with a B. And gasoline? It’s leveled off to around $1.70 a gallon. I know you pay about $1.40 now…but last summer? It topped $4 a gallon. You will freak out about that a little. But you have a secret weapon you rely on now…his name is Jesus and he calms you in every storm.
Do you remember when you were a little girl and wanted to be a stewardess? Well, you’re going to come pretty close to that dream. You’re going to work for one of the new airlines formed under deregulation. Deregulation is a fancy way of saying, any old body with a checkbook can do it! You’re going to love it and hate it and learn lots from it. It will enrich your life greatly, and when the time comes for you to say home with your babies, you will grieve the loss of the fast-paced career and the ability to shower without having tiny fingers push notes under the bathroom door. But it will be worth it, all the same….
You will have children. Lots of children. Well, four of them. You’ll wait another (almost) 10 years, but then you’ll do it in rapid succession, having all four within a five and a half year period. They will be fearless, like their daddy, not like you. But you will learn to conquer your fear, with God’s help and sheer determination. You’ll even jump off a cliff into a lake. I know you don’t believe me….Decide now to commit Philippians 4:13 to memory. Being a mom of four, you will need it. You will have to be a grown up and suck up a lot of things you swore you never would.
You dad will not live to see all of his grandchildren. I know you’re still grieving for your momma. And you will for a long time to come. The hardest part of losing her will hit you in about 9 years when you realize she won’t ever get to hold your little babies. And you also realize that you don’t know where she stood with God or if you will see her in heaven. I am going to shout at you now: LIFE IT TOO SHORT TO RISK HAVING EVEN ONE PERSON MISS OUT ON THE LOVE OF JESUS! SHARE HIM WITH EVERYBODY YOU KNOW! YOU WILL NEVER LOOK INTO THE EYES OF SOMEONE THAT JESUS DID NOT DIE FOR! I know you think I’m a little lame, but your life is running on empty right now. Come back to Jesus….SOON! You probably won’t believe it, but you are going to work full time in the ministry. I know it seems hard to believe, but you will. Quit wasting time! Come home now!
One more thought---it’s almost 11 p.m. and believe it or not, you get tired about this time of night now, so I need to be wrapping this up. There’s this thing that IBM is producing called a “PC.” It stands for Personal Computer. It will rock your world. That means like, “O my G**….STELLAR!” (yeah, you don’t take the Lord’s name in vain anymore. At least not when you aren’t driving….). Nearly every home will have at least one computer. They are TOTALLY AWESOME! You will be able to meet people “online” and become “blog” friends with them over something called the World Wide Web. You’ll talk about email and hard drives and partitions and viruses (no they can’t get sick, but they can give you a headache…and worse: worms). I know that you think computers need to be housed in basements of large buildings with super coolers and take up a big room. But they will be so small, that you will have 3 in your house…one of them even sits on your lap…it’s called a laptop. That’s a stretch, huh? There’s this guy who is renting space in the bank building on Central Ave. where your dad used to be a teller. His name is Bill Gates. Doesn't look like much, but looks ain't everything. Finagle your way into meeting him. Scrape up whatever spare money you have and invest with him. I know people think he’s kind of a geek, but get to know this guy. Trust me on this….
This is you. In 27 years. I know it’s 1982 and you’re not so sure you’ll even live to be 47, but you did and here I am.
See, there’s this TV show on now called LOST. Shows like Dynasty, with serial story lines, paved the way for LOST by becoming obsessions with the American people. You will become obsessed. So in the interest of casting light on the ability to travel the space-time continuum, I am reaching back some 27 years to let you in on a few secrets about what your future holds.
I’m really glad you and Ted bit the bullet and knuckled down and bought that little teeny yucky ABQ South Valley house last year. I know you thought it was overpriced at $34,000, but you’d be surprised what it did for you. It taught you the value of sweat equity. It taught you how to be creative. Last year you and Ted together made less than $10,000. In a few years, the $34,000 you paid for a house will be about the average price for a new Buick. And you'll move far away from the South Valley to Paradise Hills. I know it seems like a far drive, but you'll love it! Oh, and GM? Chrysler? They’re in trouble now. They didn’t knuckle down and stash some cash when they could. The government is giving them Billions of dollars to help bail them out. Billions with a B. And gasoline? It’s leveled off to around $1.70 a gallon. I know you pay about $1.40 now…but last summer? It topped $4 a gallon. You will freak out about that a little. But you have a secret weapon you rely on now…his name is Jesus and he calms you in every storm.
Do you remember when you were a little girl and wanted to be a stewardess? Well, you’re going to come pretty close to that dream. You’re going to work for one of the new airlines formed under deregulation. Deregulation is a fancy way of saying, any old body with a checkbook can do it! You’re going to love it and hate it and learn lots from it. It will enrich your life greatly, and when the time comes for you to say home with your babies, you will grieve the loss of the fast-paced career and the ability to shower without having tiny fingers push notes under the bathroom door. But it will be worth it, all the same….
You will have children. Lots of children. Well, four of them. You’ll wait another (almost) 10 years, but then you’ll do it in rapid succession, having all four within a five and a half year period. They will be fearless, like their daddy, not like you. But you will learn to conquer your fear, with God’s help and sheer determination. You’ll even jump off a cliff into a lake. I know you don’t believe me….Decide now to commit Philippians 4:13 to memory. Being a mom of four, you will need it. You will have to be a grown up and suck up a lot of things you swore you never would.
You dad will not live to see all of his grandchildren. I know you’re still grieving for your momma. And you will for a long time to come. The hardest part of losing her will hit you in about 9 years when you realize she won’t ever get to hold your little babies. And you also realize that you don’t know where she stood with God or if you will see her in heaven. I am going to shout at you now: LIFE IT TOO SHORT TO RISK HAVING EVEN ONE PERSON MISS OUT ON THE LOVE OF JESUS! SHARE HIM WITH EVERYBODY YOU KNOW! YOU WILL NEVER LOOK INTO THE EYES OF SOMEONE THAT JESUS DID NOT DIE FOR! I know you think I’m a little lame, but your life is running on empty right now. Come back to Jesus….SOON! You probably won’t believe it, but you are going to work full time in the ministry. I know it seems hard to believe, but you will. Quit wasting time! Come home now!
One more thought---it’s almost 11 p.m. and believe it or not, you get tired about this time of night now, so I need to be wrapping this up. There’s this thing that IBM is producing called a “PC.” It stands for Personal Computer. It will rock your world. That means like, “O my G**….STELLAR!” (yeah, you don’t take the Lord’s name in vain anymore. At least not when you aren’t driving….). Nearly every home will have at least one computer. They are TOTALLY AWESOME! You will be able to meet people “online” and become “blog” friends with them over something called the World Wide Web. You’ll talk about email and hard drives and partitions and viruses (no they can’t get sick, but they can give you a headache…and worse: worms). I know that you think computers need to be housed in basements of large buildings with super coolers and take up a big room. But they will be so small, that you will have 3 in your house…one of them even sits on your lap…it’s called a laptop. That’s a stretch, huh? There’s this guy who is renting space in the bank building on Central Ave. where your dad used to be a teller. His name is Bill Gates. Doesn't look like much, but looks ain't everything. Finagle your way into meeting him. Scrape up whatever spare money you have and invest with him. I know people think he’s kind of a geek, but get to know this guy. Trust me on this….
Make this a point: Remember what it’s like to be skinny! You actually need to gain weight so badly, you go out and buy something called Weight-On. Hold on to that because it won’t last forever. Believe it or not, at one point, you will weigh about 60 lbs more than you do right now…and you won’t even be pregnant! You can actually gain weight just by inhaling potato chips...
No matter what else happens…hold fast to Jesus. Love your husband. And make the most of your life. You get one chance in this world. Discover God’s purpose for your life now, so you can go ahead and get started really living!
Love,
Pam (circa 2009)
(This is Ted and I, in about 1984, I think...23? We were on our first trip to Hawaii together, courtesy the airline job...and both as sick as dogs...but look! I had COLLAR BONES!!!)It's not too late! What would you say to yourself at 20?
Comments
I think I'm going to have to try doing this.
I wonder if I still live at my old address...