Moving On

 Let me tell you about one of the most important people in my life: Erin Randalow. When I first met Erin, I was so intimidated because she seemed (and was) such a godly woman and exactly what I wanted to be. I had been praying throughout the summer before attending Georgia Tech that God would have someone wise, and willing to teach, pursue me and help me in my walk with God. Little did I know that Erin had already been praying for me as well. God does funny things like that. When I started getting involved with the Navigators, Erin made me feel so special. She sought me out and wanted to know more about me. She asked me questions about my life, family and who I was. I immediately felt so comfortable with her because she was vulnerable first. She opened her heart and her life to me and never once made me feel like an outsider. I felt like the "cool" freshman because this beautiful woman of God  saw something in me and wanted to be friends with me. Without Erin, I don't know what my time here at Ga Tech would be like.

In September Erin asked me if I wanted to start meeting intentionally to read the Bible and to talk about life, essentially to be discipled by her. I WAS SO EXCITED!! I remember it all to clearly; we were sitting outside of Tin Drum having dinner and I felt as if she was asking me on a date or something. It was so funny but it was essentially the same. She wanted to walk along side of me. I was excited because Erin was exactly what I pictured growing into. In the short months that I had known her, I had already seen the way God was working in her life and all these characteristics of her faith and walk, that I wanted to mimic.

Erin and I began to meet on a weekly basis and she was the tool that God used to change my life forever. When I was a freshman, I had no idea how to study the bible on my own, have a quiet time, how to pray, how to share the gospel, or the importance of memorizing scripture. The best part was she wanted to know what I wanted to learn. She heard my needs and desires and helped me accomplish my goals. Erin has always been my support and greatest encourager. She has been in my corner from day 1 and I never doubted that. She has seen me through some of the hardest times in my life and some of the greatest. She has laughed with me when I did foolish things and cried with me when I was upset. Most of all, she has always listened to me. She has always given me the room and the grace to make mistakes. Erin has challenged me in ways that I never would have done on my own. I have always joked with her that all her wisdom was stored in her hair which is why her hair is so long but even when she cut it, it didn't matter; her wisdom has come from the Lord and no matter how long her hair was, God's wisdom is never ending.

 There are many things that Erin has taught me but I'm only going to talk about a few in this post.

1. Modesty I will never forget the 1-1 we had on this topic. It was probably one of the most emotional and heart wrenching meetings we have had. She shared with me the importance of it and the reasons behind it. Harkey (her boyfriend) had written to me a couple of the reasons and encouragement of how important it was. He shared with me some personal things with me that have helped me make decisions every time I go shopping. If I wouldn't want to wear it around my Dad or around Josh, then I wouldn't buy it. Erin instilled in me on that day a desire to protect my brothers in Christ. I wanted to help them in their walk with the Lord and not to be a hindrance to them. I wanted to protect them for their wives' sake just as I hope some woman out there is protecting my husband, whoever he may be.

2.  Prayer Erin loves to pray and because of this I have heard so much about the power of prayer. Erin has taught me how to pray and when to pray (which is always). I once told Erin that I didn't like to pray in front of people because I didn't "pray well enough" and that I wasn't "good enough." This was the first out of two times that Erin has ever raised her voice at me. She told me that those thoughts I was having were of Satan's doing. That God didn't want fancy words or eloquent praise but that He wanted me. He wanted me to talk to him, to tell him about my day and how I was feeling. So from then on, she would force me to pray out loud, in front of people until now I can say that I love to pray and no longer feel embarrassed as I once did.

3. Scripture Memory If there is one thing that doesn't come naturally, it is scripture memory. From that first semester, Erin started quizzing me and holding me accountable in this area. She challenged me and urged me on. It still doesn't come natural to me but I have seen the fruits of it in ways that I would never have thought.

4. Biblical Leadership From these 3 years with Erin, I have been watching everything she did. I watched how she dealt with conflict, how she encouraged people and most importantly how she lead people. Erin modeled discipleship and taught me how to lead other girls. She gave me the opportunity to co-lead with her in bible study and taught me how to lead a small group. When I struggled with discipleship, she encouraged me and gave me wisdom to keep going. She showed me the passion she had for freshmen girls and to grow the women's ministry of Navigators. Because of this, I have been excited about similar things. I will be leading the women's ministry next year but the thing that I am most excited about is to be an example of biblical submission. I want to be an example of what it looks like for a woman in leadership to submit to Rob, who is President of Navs. I want to show the women that I am leading, that as women, we are called to submission. This doesn't mean that we don't lead, but we lead differently and in the way God has called us. I wouldn't be able to do this, if Erin had not been modeling this for me for many years.

Erin has been my role model in so many ways. She has allowed me to ask her nosy questions about her relationship with Josh, family, and friends. She never tried to keep secrets from me but shared openly and admitted her mistakes. To me, Erin Randalow is a super hero. God has worked powerfully in her and my life would not be where it is today, if she had not followed in faith and poured into me. I'm sure that I was frustrating at times but she never gave up on me.

Last night, Erin gave her senior talk at Nav Nite. We prayed for her to send her out into the world. As she continues into marriage with Josh and a chemical engineer with BASF, I know that she will be following the Lord. I will miss her like nothing else. If I am honest with myself, I am scared to know what I will do with out her because she has been so important to me. But God is faithful and has taught me so much that I know that I will be able to stand because He is my strength (Isaiah 41:10) and I do not need to fear. It amazes me that there will be freshmen next year who don't know who she is but I hope that the legacy that she has left behind in me will continue to touch other people. If she has taught me nothing else, it is to be aware of who is watching and to be a light for Christ in everything I do. I know that Erin will never disappear from the Georgia Tech Navigators because of the lives she has touched her 4 years here. She not only taught, but taught others to teach. Erin has left behind a legacy of love, grace, discipleship and a passion for God.

A phrase that I have heard so many times is to have "An Attitude of Gratitude" and that is exactly how I feel. I am so grateful to have been allowed the honor of walking along side this wonderful woman. I am sad that she is leaving but I would never want to detract her from what God has planned. The Lord will be doing great things through this woman and I'm excited to hear about them.

Basically, if you don't know Erin then I am very sad for you and you should remedy that now!

Rise to the Surface

Over the course of about a week and a half, the Lord has been doing a crazy work in my life. Isn't it funny how when you pray for God to move, He actually does? In my bible study, we are reading Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges. We were chatting two weeks ago about how you cannot truly understand God's grace until you understand God's forgiveness because they go hand in hand. Jerry Bridges talks about the act of forgiveness and how it is a choice not a feeling necessarily. He goes on to say that as people forgiven of so much by God, how can we not forgive other people?

Well at this point, I am feeling a little convicted. And when I say a little, what I am really saying is that I was convicted a lot. An old friend of mine hurt me extremely badly in my freshmen year of college that I had still not forgiven. In fact, I wasn't even close. I had closed up to nurse my wound and when I did that, I not only fed my sinful, fleshy desires but I let bitterness take root. I mean, why should I forgive her when she hurt me so badly? It wasn't fair. Didn't God see how hurt I was because of this? But the Lord had other plans for me. 

The next day I went to Octane with a woman named Betty. She is in her 70's and a very wise woman who I like to meet with and just soak up her wisdom. I brought up the subject of forgiveness and how I was struggling. I told her my story with my friend and she listened so patiently. At the end of the story, I told her that I knew that I was struggling with bitterness. She said with complete truth, "I think that is apparent." Whew. Such honesty right? Well she then proceeded to tell me that she had listened to me talk about me, my hurts, my wounds, and how it all affect me. I had never once mentioned what was going on in my friends life that might have caused her to behave this way. My friend is a non-believer and I didn't even care that because I wasn't talking to her, I was cutting off one of her potentially only ways to see Christ. Goodness I was convicted. I had never really heard about how selfish my desire to not forgive was. The point of not forgiving her was not because I was mad, but because I didn't want anyone to forget how much I had been hurt. Betty shared this verse with me:

See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. - Hebrews 12:15

It was amazing that even though I know it creates a wall between us and God, I let a bitter root grow and become this stronghold that Satan was taking full advantage of. 

I met with Erin that next week and asked her about forgiveness as well. I know, you are thinking that I have already heard it from two good sources but that is the trick about things that I don't want to hear, I have to listen multiple times. So Erin and I talked about the reason that this particular incident caused so much bitterness is because I never dealt with the sin in my life that came to the surface as a result of this conflict. My identity had been so wrapped up in what my friend said and thought about me that when she left, I was broken. I was also ashamed though because I knew as a Christian my identity should be in God not another person. So when this sin came to the surface, I buried under the guise of hurt and blame on my friend. I was so prideful that I was unwilling to forgive. Talk about a plank being in my eye! 

I have realized that since then, any conflict I have had, I dealt with the sin. This is why there are no other bitter roots in my life, that I'm aware of. It was humbling to realize that I had chosen to ignore apparent sin and blame someone else. I was so unwilling to take responsibility. After all, wasn't it all her fault? I had such a wrong mind set about it. I was then reading Job on Saturday when the Lord brought it to my attention again because He wasn't quite done with me yet. I was preparing for Nav Night and I was reading the commentary about this passage: 

 After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the Lord told them; and theLord accepted Job’s prayer.   - Job 42:7-9

The commentary was talking about Job's forgiveness to his three friends. They had been accusing him of sin that was not there and had not been encouraging at all. Yet, Job still forgave and prayed to God on their behalf! Man I was still struggling to forgive my friend. I knew what I was supposed to do but wasn't it suppose to be a long process? Should I confront her first and talk it all out?

Sunday morning, oh boy, it was the clincher. The message at Grace Midtown that morning was about Proverbs 27:5 which says,

Better is open rebuke than hidden love. 

 The speaker talked about how rebuke and correction belongs in the family of believers. We, as Christians, can't hold a non-believer (which my friend is) to a standard that they don't believe in. Man that hit home. What I had really been wanting to do was go yell and scream and feed my sinful desires. I was angry, embarrassed by my sin, and ashamed of having this bitter root. It was her fault, or so I thought. I knew that in all conflict, we all play and equal role. No one is without blame but I sure thought I was. It hit me like a ton of bricks that I could just forgive. It would be as easy as that. God can do so much more than I sometimes give Him credit for. Just because the root had been in my life for 3 years, didn't mean that He couldn't uproot it in a day.

I was sitting a praying during the benediction and the Spirit was just washing over me. Hadn't I been forgiven of so much? What had this girl done to me that I had not done worse to God? I laid it down right there. I confessed to the Lord right then about the sin I had never admitted to. I forgave. I finally walked away from the chains that Jesus had unlocked so long ago. I had stayed in them for 3 years but I was finally walking free. What a burden it had been that was finally off my shoulders. I'm not mad at her now. I'm actually kind of grateful. Without this, I would never have known the full measure of my desire to be selfish and how to recognize the symptoms. I never would have journeyed this with the Lord. It is so amazing how God uses the worst things in our life to teach us the most important lessons.

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. - Matthew 5:23-24

An unforgiving attitude will create a barrier between you and God. We can either deal with the sin that comes up or shove it to the side under a lot of blame and letter a bitter root take hold. The choice is ours. I am so free, that I am amazed that I have stayed in the chains.

A New Outlook

So at the Passion 2012 conference, I was really convicted by Beth Moore's session. In it she brought in a lot of scripture and gave me a fresh outlook on it. It is so amazing how you can read a passage a million times and still be hugely convicted by it in a new way. In Luke 8:40-48, the story of the girl that Jesus raised from the dead and the woman whose bleeding is healed are told together. The woman's story interrupts the story about the girl. The passage begins and ends with the girl but the middle is about the woman's suffering. I was astonished when Beth pointed this out. How could I have read this story so often and never stopped to see this and wonder at the significance?

This young girl was dying, and yet Jesus stopped to tend to this woman's needs and hurts. It is so easy to get caught up in thinking that God has bigger things to worry about than me. Crime, war, and everything going on in the world, how could God see my hurts and needs and take time to heal them? But that is just it; he wants to! God delights in me and wants to heal me and cleanse me. I am precious in His sight which is something that amazes me. Have you ever stopped to think that the Creator of the Universe, the Holy One, the God Almighty, the Savior, the Redeemer, the Rock of our Salvation, DELIGHTS in us? It blows my mind every time I think about it. Nothing I have done earned it. It is freely given because He created me. God loves me and wants to use His time to heal and cleanse me.

Beth talked about how Jesus has made himself available to grab onto and that no matter how unclean we are, we can never get Jesus dirty. He is the ultimate Mr. Clean. She mentioned in her message Hebrews 10:19-23 but when I went back to read it, I continued to read until verse 31. It gave me a completely new outlook on Hebrews 10:24-25 which says

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

I have always read these verses and thought that it was all about fellowship and just hanging out and encouraging other believers. But after reading it in the context, I have discovered a new truth about fellowship and the type of encouragement that we are to give. Verses 19-23 talk about how we can approach God and be cleaned from a guilty conscience and be washed pure. In verses  26-31 it talks about how we should not keep sinning after we know the truth because it would be rejecting the grace offered us by the Spirit.

29  How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace.

So in context of all of this, I realize that verses 24-25 are really about holding each other accountable and truly about the relationship that you have with someone who will ask you the tough questions. Someone who will ask how they can help me pursue righteousness, holiness, and purity and how I can help them as well. It says that some are in the habit of not meeting and I think I know why. It isn't natural to want your dirty laundry aired before anyone. Beth said, "The things we have the greatest need for healing are the deepest secrets of our hearts. We are as sick as our secrets." How can we be healed if we wont bring them before the Healer and have someone who will walk with us to the Doctor's office?

We have to have someone who will help challenge us and keep us accountable to our thoughts and actions; who will pray for us desperately before God. We have been sanctified by the blood of Christ and should be pursing the righteousness and holiness of our Savior who gives us the Spirit of grace. Also, do our actions help others around us? I've been thinking a lot about purity recently and I know that sometimes my actions have not helped mine or those around me. Luckily I have a Lord who will and does convict me of my sin, even if it is painful and I don't want to admit that something is wrong.

I think that when we keep our sin a secret, it is the ultimate prideful act. To make it seem like we are above confession means that we are saying we have no need of a savior. For us to say we are saved means to humbly admit that were lost.

Back to the woman who reached out to Jesus. Faith inspired the touch that brought healing. Is my faith or your faith strong enough to reach out to the Healer in order to receive the healing that we so desperately need? Do I trust God enough to willingly give him my dirty laundry, blackened by my sin, and have Him wash them white as snow?

Just like that awkward first date...

I'm sure that you are very curious as to what this post could be about because of my title. Well it is actually about the importance of prayer. IF there is one thing that I wished I could be blessed with and something that I continually hope for is that I will one day greatly desire to pray. I could read scripture all day, but something about prayer doesn't come naturally to me. Eventually I hope it will be a part of me just like breathing, but for now it is something that I have to work at, to continually practice the discipline of because it is so rewarding.

It has been a long time up until tonight that I have truly prayed and sought to enter into the Lord's presence. Sure, I have scribbled a prayer in my journal when I felt obligated or guilty, or when something was really really wrong, but I have not wanted to converse with God. Over the summer, Deb Entsminger and Sam Hull really taught me a lot about prayer through example, but somewhere along the way, I started to forget the benefits and beauty of it. I recently told Erin about my difficulties in this area, which was something so difficult for me. There is so much apart of me that deeply values what other people think of me; I am a people pleaser. Erin is a prayer warrior, so it was difficult for me to tell her that I was struggling, that I wasn't this perfect Christian who always wanted to pray and seek after the Lord. It was hard to be vulnerable with her even after I had been so many times in past. And just like her answer to all of my life's questions and struggles, Erin said to me, "Lauren, you need to pray." She took me as I was and just told me to get it over with.

Well tonight I finally did. I decided I was going to get it over with and see if God really wanted to talk to me still after I had been ignoring His call for months. He did   :)   It felt like an awkward first date. It was like I couldn't remember how to pray or how to communicate with God. It was like speaking with your childhood best friend after not seeing each other for years. We know so much about each other, but I could not communicate. I was nervous and fidgety. I sat on my bed for a couple of minutes in just silence, just working up the courage to talk to God. I knew that if I didn't feel his presence, that I would be devastated. I finally broke the ice and started talking. It was like everything came flooding out; the dam had finally broken. I poured out everything that I had been keeping to myself, even those things that I hadn't admitted to myself yet.

It was so wonderful. To feel the Lord sweep over me and through me was a beautiful experience. It felt just like I was returning home. The initial first date awkwardness was over and out of it was a natural outpouring. Why I decided to fall out of contact with the Lord, I have no idea. All I know is that it was terrible. There is no worse thing, than to be separated from God. And nothing can separate us, but I had chosen to distance myself from the Lord. The good thing is though, He pulls us back into His welcoming arms. Prayer and constant communication with God is so important. I never want God to feel like a stranger or a first date, but like a life-long Friend, Father, Redeemer, Savior, King, and Lord.

A New Beginning...

So many of you know that I have finished my journey through the Old Testament. It has been a good 2 year long journey, where the Lord has taught me a lot. I am now moving into the New Testament. I have decided to read through the gospels and just soak in Christ.

Tonight when we were having a prayer and worship night at the pirate house, I started reading Matthew. I read the first 4 chapters and was totally amazed at how dense the New Testament is. Matthew 1 starts off with the genealogy of Christ. I was reading it and realized that only 5 times does it mentions who someone's mother was. Most of the time it is so and so the father of so and so. But occasionally it breaks from this and mentions the mother as well. This must mean that there was something spectacular about her. Something that made the historians realize that her story MUST be included and remembered. Hannah and I are starting to look through the women of the Bible in our 1-1's starting this week and what it looks like to be a woman of God. I think that these 5 women would be a great place to start.

1. Tamar 
2. Rahab
3. Ruth
4. "...whose mother had been Uriah's wife." or Bathesheba
5. Mary the mother of Jesus

I can't wait to dive into these with Hannah and see what the Lord will be teaching us.

"As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew." Matthew 4:18\a

• I love that this says that Jesus was walking. Jesus did not sit on his butt and wait for his disciples to come and find him. He sought them out and found them. He looked for those that he wanted to follow him and was active in it. 

"They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen." Matthew 4:18b

• At first glance, this verse is very easy to skip over. The thing is though, this verse can tell us more about our identity and actions that any "How-To" book. This says that Peter and Andrew had their identity as fishermen. It is how they made their livliehood. It is was the were DEFINED by. What they were DEFINED by determined their ACTIONS. They were casting the net because they were fishermen. If we have our identity as a disciple of Christ, what actions prove that? As a student, I study. As a disciple of Christ, we should make disciples, love and forgive; to give the grace that has been given us. OUR IDENTITY DETERMINES OUR ACTIONS!

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people." vs. 19

• Jesus doesn't play around. He is very upfront with what he is calling Peter and Andrew into. He doesn't say, "Come, follow me, so that I can turn you into someone who goes to church more or reads their bible more or can memorize a ton a scripture." While these things are good, he says my mission is to TRAIN you to MAKE MORE DISCIPLES. Jesus doesn't try to hide it or spring it on them after they are already too committed.

"At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John." vs 20-21a

• Jesus doesn't stop with Peter and Andrew. HE KEEPS GOING. You can't say that once you have made one disciple while you were in college or a young adult that you have completed your end of the bargain. It is a life mission, something that keeps on going. 

"They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets." vs. 21b

• Their identity as fishermen, not only determined their actions, but it DETERMINED THEIR LOCATION. These men were on a boat because that is where the fish were. As a student, you can find me at Georgia Tech, a college campus. As a disciple of Christ, you should find me in the darkness as a light to those around me. You shouldn't find me in my "holy huddle" of only Christian friends, but you should find me in the muck and grind looking for those that I can share the Good News with. We need Jesus to wash our feet because he expects us to get dirty in our travels to preach the Gospel. 

"Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him." vs. 22

• Do I immediately follow when God calls me to go somewhere or to do something? Most of the time I argue or ask questions to post-pone it. They didn't even gather anything. They didn't say goodbye to their father or mother. They IMMEDIATELY left what they were doing. They left their lives and everything that was familiar and comfortable to them. 

Essentially, this is what I have been learning and the observations that I have made. I was amazed to get all of that out of 4 verses. I'm excited to see where God will take me next. 

Jonah and I. Two Peas in a Pod?

"In my distress I called to the Lord,

and he answered me.

From the depths of the grave I called for help,

and you listened to my cry.

You hurled me into the deep,

into the very heart of the seas,

and the currents swirled about me;

all your waves and breakers

swept over me.

I said, 'I have been banished

from your sight;

yet I will look again

toward your holy temple.'

The engulfing waters threatened me,

the deep surrounded me;

seaweed was wrapped around my head.

To the roots of the mountains I sank down; 

the earth beneath barred me in forever.

But you brought my life up from the pit,

O Lord my God.

When my life was ebbing away,

I remembered you, Lord,

and my prayer rose to you,

to your holy temple.

'Those who cling to worthless idols

forfeit the grace that could be theirs.

But I, with a song of thanksgiving, 

will sacrifice to you.

What I have vowed I will make good.

Salvation comes from the Lord.'"

Jonah 2:2-9

Tonight at North Ave, we had a worship session that was really awesome, but I knew that my heart wasn't in the right place. These past couple of weeks has been really hard. The enemy gained a lot of ground in my life while I was just trying to stay afloat. The thing was though, I have been trying to stay afloat in the ocean of this world with a little inner-tube that I created by my own strength instead of turning to the huge rescue boat that Jesus sent just for me! Jesus has been calling out to me; to let Him rescue me and not for me to do it on my own. It is exhausting you know. It really is. 

Tonight I borrowed Kayla's bible and turned to Jonah because I hadn't had time in the Word in almost a week. I began to read Jonah's prayer to God while he was in the belly of the whale. And it hit me that Jonah and I are like two peas in a pod. I may not have been running from God but I had definitely been attempting to hide/ignore Him. I praise God that in the depths of the grave that I dig for myself continually, He hears me and lifts me out. 

Georgia Tech has really felt like the churning ocean that Jonah was tossed in. I feel like the currents of pride, self-reliance, and dependence on academics has been the seaweed that has been tangling me into the sea. The engulfing waters that threatened Jonah has been the P-Chem and Inorganic assignments that never seem to end, the Calculus that is continually hovering and pulling me under. 

The safety net of my own success or failure in school has been the worthless idols that I have clung to. I have clung to a self-relying attitude instead of a dependence on God. I have been forfeiting the grace that is offered to me. The grace that is in Christ Jesus is mine! Mine to have and to give to others.

Salvation comes from the Lord. I'm choosing to give up my own failing safety device and I'm reaching out to grab Jesus' hand to pull me aboard His rescue boat. In the storm of school, hard decisions, and life's tsunamis, Jesus can calm the sea. He did it once and He can do it again. Of that I am certain. 

A Letter From God

Dear Lauren,

I am God. Today I will be handling all of your problems. Please remember that I do not need your help. If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do not attempt to resolve it. Kindly put it in the SFGTD (something for God to do) box. It will be addressed in My time, not yours. Once the matter is placed in the box, do not hold onto it.

If you find yourself stuck in traffic, don’t despair. There are people in this world for which driving is an unheard privilege. Should you have a bad day at work, think of the man who has been out of work for years. Should you despair over a relationship gone bad, think of the person who has never known what it is like to love and be loved in return. Should you grieve the passing of another weekend, think of the woman in dire straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week to feed her children.

Should your car break down, leaving you miles away from assistance, think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that walk. Should you notice a new gray hair in the mirror, think of the cancer patient who wishes she had hair to examine. Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what is life all about, asking what is my purpose? Be thankful. There are those who didn’t live long enough to get the opportunity. Should you find yourself the victim of other people’s bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities, remember that things could be worse. You could be them!

I love you more than you can imagine. I love the person sitting right next you and I want you to love them as well as you love yourself. Have you met my Son? He died for you. Because of my Son’s sacrifice, I can directly talk to you, to send you this letter. If you haven’t met Him yet, then you should. Just have a conversation with him. He is really looking forward to meeting you.

With love,

Daddy