My Sixteen Year Old Self

Listening to the radio last week, on the way to pick up the kids from school, I heard the talk-show-host ask this question:

 "What would you tell your 16-year-old self 

now that you're older?" 

What a fantastic question. 

I gave it a nano-second of thought and here's what I came up with: 

 Sixteen-year-old Alysa, you really are going to be thankful that your mum MADE you continue on in piano. It will bring you great comfort and therapy in the coming years.

Sixteen-year-old Alysa, just because you're 16 and no boy likes you 

does NOT mean you're ugly and fat. 

Even though you think it does. 

Don't believe that lie. 

Oh, and by the way, you end up marrying an INCREDIBLE guy, 

who's super hot and super fun and the best husband a gal could ask for. 

So just hang on for a bit and remember that God is good -- 

even when it doesn't feel like it!

Sixteen-year-old Alysa, your worth isn't determined by whether the boy you've had a crush on for 4 years likes you back. 

God says you're His daughter and you're beautiful and worthy of being loved and that's really all that matters. 

Sixteen-year-old Alysa, you're gonna LOVE living in Indonesia when you're in your mid-twenties, even if it means you got your heart broken in order to get you over to the other side of the world. 
God's ways are always best, even when it feels yucky in the moment, 
even when it hurts, even when it doesn't make sense. 

Trust.

 

Sixteen-year-old Alysa, don't make yourself lose your Canadian accent when you go away to American university just because everyone makes fun of you. 

Stay true to who you are, eh? 

 

Sixteen-year-old Alysa, you really do get to go to Madagascar some day, just like you vowed you would when you were in 5th grade. 

And you get to France AND Kenya on that trip, too. 

It's the trip of a lifetime! 

Never forget to dream BIG!

Sixteen-year-old Alysa, don't EVER get another curly perm. Never again.  
{All photos of me with curly perms have hopefully been burned. It was bad. Very bad.}
This might explain why no boys ever liked me. Hmmmmmmmm.


Sixteen-year-old Alysa, don't hold on to past hurts. 
Let them go. 
Move on. 
Be a big girl. 
Ask God to help you forgive. 
You're the one that ends up FREE when you choose to not be bitter. 

Sixteen-year-old Alysa, when you have to move schools this year between your 10th and 11th grade, it really isn't the end of the world. 
You'll be fine. 
Do a better job at meeting people at your new school instead of having the 
"Screw you I just want to be back in Thessalon with my true friends" attitude.

Sixteen-year-old Alysa, don't wait until you're 40 to start working on your extreme people pleasing. 
Start now. 
It's okay to disappoint people. 
Please God first.

 Sixteen-year-old Alysa. You're not fat. You're not ugly. {even though you think you} 

Sixteen-year-old Alysa. You're not fat. You're not ugly. 

Sixteen-year-old Alysa. You're not fat. You're not ugly. 

As you can tell, I had some serious self-esteem issues to face and overcome. 
To say it's been a journey is perhaps an understatement, 
but I love that God doesn't leave us in those dark places. 
He wants to see us through them, 
sometimes literally carrying us as we limp along in our own self-pity. 
{I should do a post on this some day soon. My guess is others can relate. Ya?} 

 Sixteen-year-old Alysa, you hate dogs now. 
But just you wait. 
A certain little Coco puff shall 
take your breath away!

So those thoughts truly came fast and furious and just popped out on paper.
I thought it was so telling that I could SO quickly go back to the little girl who so desperately just wanted to feel pretty and like she was worth something. I can see God's incredible patience and love and concern for me to not leave me in that state.

I would be SO curious to hear what YOU would say to your sixteen-year-old self.