A letter from Oct 30th, 2021

Dear FutureMe, From this frigid early January day, I don't know how you're responding to change and difficulty, and I don't know what hard things you're facing, whether they are the ones I expect now, or others that have come as a surprise. But I do know: Whatever giants you are facing, God is bigger. He is with you, and His goodness is bigger than you know. You are loved and known, not forgotten and invisible. As things shift and change, I hope you remember: God never changes, and He will not change His mind about you. Your stability does not come from your plans, or your ability to manage things so that everyone in the world is comfortable and safe and happy. Your value is not from being needed by others, or from everything staying the same. Change is natural. The great story of your faith, the story you see in the Bible and in nature is that life comes from *****. You can embrace everything that feels like ***** right now. You can release the things that are changing, the chapters that are ending, the seasons that are over. Let everything fall to the ground like seeds, and trust the God who makes the flowers grow, God who spoke everything you see into being. Is this hard? Yes. But you can do hard things. Don't try to do them by yourself, and don't pretend to be stronger than you are. Say a prayer, go for a walk, choose gratitude, take a nap, call 'a friend. Hard doesn't mean you're on the wrong path. Let these changes bind you to the God who calls you by name, the Father whose arms are always open to you, whose Word has been your treasure and whose Spirit has been your breath. He will not fail you. He will not fail you. So for the next promise me Tamara. promise to stay strong in the face of the harsh world