Dear Descendents

Dear Son, Daughter, or Grandchild. 
This is for you.

I don't know your name yet. I don't know your birthday or your age. I don't know where you live. I don't know whether you're even mine. I don't know whether you are healthy or ill, close or far, biological or adopted, dead or alive. 

I don't know where you live. In a home, in a dorm, on the street, in a jail cell, I don't know. I don't know what our relationship is like. I don't know your face, your full heritage; I don't know your friends, I don't know your father. Small 'f.' 

I don't know your favourite colour, food, movie, book, song, band, animal, sport, or game.

I don't know your school, your interests, your hobbies, your talents, your hopes, your dreams, your passions, your goals, your fears, your joys.

Maybe you are adopted... but not by me. Maybe you never knew me and I never had the chance to know you. Maybe to you, this letter is from a complete stranger. 

I. Don't. Know. You.
(Yet.)

I'm only sixteen. Just a teenager marveling at how fast my life is hurtling by. And although I know nothing about you- only what I imagine in my mind, I'm not worried. Because even now, at 10:31 PM on September 8th, 2014... you are completely real. I believe firmly that every strand of your DNA has been meticulously mapped out. Your perfect body and features have been planned by the most creative and perfect mind. Your brain and heart have been dreamed up by the One who invented dreams. Your personality is like a song just waiting to begin.

Your life is like a movie... and my God is just waiting to press 'Play.' You are you. Already. Even though nobody on the planet has a single clue as to who you will be- that's okay. Because the One who created the planet has it all figured out. He knows your name. He knows your birthday. He knows where you live, He knows who your parents are. He knows your nationality.

He knows your interests because He gave them to you. He knows your passions because He lit that fire! He knows your story because He wrote it. Already. And someday- He'll begin the process of publishing it. Your story. Your life. A work of art just waiting to bless the world.

Believe it or not, I think about you a lot. Some nights I lie awake for hours thinking about you. I haven't decided on a name yet. If you're a girl, I'm thinking maybe Avery, or Piper. If you're a boy... I don't really know. Maybe Sage or Tucker. 

I think so often about where we will live, how I will raise you, and how madly in love I will be with you. I pray that I will get to experience that- that I will get to meet you. Like I said, maybe we're not even related by blood, but I chose you because you had no one else. But whoever you are, wherever you are, and whenever you are, I pray more than anything for one thing: That we will be family through His blood.

My son, my daughter, my niece, my nephew, my foster child, my godchild, my sponsor child, my student, my friend... I don't care about anything other than this: I want you to know. KNOW. Know beyond any shadow of a doubt that there is One True Love in this world, and that is it. I can only be a reflection. This One True Love is pure beauty and perfection- which is exactly what you are modeled after. 

Yes, He has designed your mind to form certain opinions, think a certain way, show love through a certain language, but He does desire one thing specifically, one thing that dominates all your unique characteristics. He wants You.

He's got you figured out right now. And just thinking about that gives me shivers- because you probably won't be around for years yet. But you're in the making. And once you are born, He will still be making you. I mean, He's still making me. He's still making my parents and my grandparents. He's never done! It's amazing- His plan for us just keeps getting better and better! 

The reason I want so badly for you to be in love with your Creator is because I want to spend eternity with You, with Him. There is no other way. Even if I never get to meet you, even if I never get to see you grow up- I will still see your perfected, finished masterpiece someday in the Throne room of Grace.

I am trying my best to be a good ancestor for you. I'll be leaving behind many memories from my life. Pictures, journals, books, artwork, CDs, belongings, this blog- I can't take any of them with me when my few years are up. 

Romans 12:1~

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

But right now, I want to be working hard every day to make sure that everything I own, everything I say, everything I buy, everything I gain... I want to make sure that it is all something you would be proud of. Something that would teach you, something that would matter, so that it could be passed down through the generations and not be forgotten. Even now, I am praying for you. It's true.

I have stories I could tell you- so many stories. But not right here. Go find one of my journals, go read more on my blog, go look through the scrapbooks. But just trust me. I've only been here for, like, 6,000 days. And yet, in that short amount of time, God has already proved Himself over and over and over. He didn't even have to. I've doubted, I've shouted, I've pouted, but HE chose to forgive me and prove to me that He is the way. And He is real.

I know it's something you need to discover for yourself, and I can't make the decision for you. Even if I could, I wouldn't. I can promise you, however, that there is only one hope- only ONE way to make your life have a purpose.

How? Just look to the one and only thing that I know about you. You were created by MY Father. Big 'F.'

Isaiah 64:8~

But now, O Lord, you are our Father; 

we are the clay, and you are our potter; 

we are all the work of your hand.

Sincerely, 

Your 16-year-old Ancestor.

1 New Message

Sunday morning. Getting ready for church. What's on your 'church packing list?' Nice clothes, perhaps a water bottle or travel mug with your favourite beverage, cough drops, Kleenex, a notebook, a meal for the potluck after the sermon.... have I missed anything? Maybe this will jog your memory:

"...Well, it's not like the entire sermon we'll need our Bible for- just a specific passage. Maybe a few verses. I can just share with whoever is sitting beside me."

Does that sound familiar? It does to me. My Bible is big and bulky. It's a little bit heavy- especially when I'm walking around after church trying to gather up the rest of my siblings and herd them out the door. It's a big of a pain to be carrying everywhere and have to put down on my seat every time the worship team tells us to stand. Is it really that big a deal to leave the Bible at home once in a while, especially since the verses are often put on the screen, and we can just share with out neighbor? Many of us even have a Bible app on our phones! Maybe we don't need to bring our Bibles every Sunday....

But do we ever hesitate to bring our phones and iPods out of the house? Even if we know our friends probably won't be texting us- do we leave it at home? No. We are always eager to hear from them- always anticipating another text, call, notification, or other type of 'beep.' How can we be so eager to hear from our human friends, and so indifferent towards hearing from God? We wouldn't dream of leaving the house without some sort of way of communication in order to receive very simple, everyday, average messages from friends and family, but we often find it a pain to bring along the Message that brings hope and freedom. 

I know that technology is often used at church to look up passages quickly and effortlessly. I'm not against these apps whatsoever- they're a great invention, to be honest! But what happens when our friend's text message pops up in the corner of the screen? Be honest with yourself- do you ignore the text and continue to read the Scripture, or do you take a quick break to see what this person had to say? If it were me, the distraction of the little message bubble would easily draw my attention away from the Bible app. 

What ever happened to entering into the throne room of Grace with just one motive- to worship? What ever happened to having the single desire to hear the  voice of God ALONE, rather than the voices of our peers? When did the Bible become so boring and mundane and uninteresting that a text saying "See you after church" or "Could you pick up some bread at the store?" or "We should hang out later" became more exciting than having a special revelation from the Holy Spirit?

We never go anywhere without our technology that links us to all mankind- but we hardly ever bring the Book that links us to the God of the Universe. Who knows when we will be called to witness? It could be at church, but it could also be at the bus station. It could be at youth group, but it could also be at the mall. If the time comes and we are needed to evangelize, yes, we may have our phones. But what about the actual literal Gospel? 

I'm wondering how many times I've missed a message from God because I opened a message from my classmate. I'm wondering how many more hours I've spent chatting with friends than reading God's gift to me- His own Word.

2 Timothy 3:16~

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, 

for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 

that the man of God may be competent, 

equipped for every good work.

Matthew 4:4~

But [Jesus] answered, “It is written, 

“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,

 but by every word that comes 

from the mouth of God.’”

The Word of God brings freedom. The words of people bring distraction. The Word of God brings truth. The words of people often bring gossip and lies. The Word of God is nothing but LOVE. The words of people are self-seeking and self-promoting. The Word of God is a light that guides us. The words of people are often tainted with sin.

And how often do we actually keep the Prayer Line open? Though we continue to hang up and call back, God's end is always free. He is always wanting to talk, but we restrict His conversation hours to morning, afternoon, and nighttime... maybe edging in a special session before a test or trip. It's not a real conversation anymore- it's more of an update for Him and a couple bless'ems. 

1 Thessalonians 5:17~

Never stop praying.

Wow. Got it. I'm going to challenge myself for this new school year starting tomorrow morning, to call God in the morning, opening up the line. But I'm not going to hang up. For me, 'Amen' is not going to be a 'Good-bye,' anymore. It's going to be a 'Wait a second.' It will be a 24/7 prayer, so that God is always free to tell me something. I don't want to block my heart off from Him anymore, limiting Him to the times I have set aside for devotions. 

Grade 11 starts tomorrow. I'm turning devotion to a verb, prayer to a lifestyle, and I'm sticking a Bible in my backpack. God, I'm turning the conversation over to You. Because I'm listening now.