Dear Jedediah

Prompt:

Feb 9

Childhood Revisited

Sure, you turned out pretty good, but is there anything you wish had been different about your childhood? If you have kids, is there anything you wish were different for them?

Dear  Jedediah,

I’m so nervous writing this letter as you’re the very reason why I started blogging; to leave you trails of evidence of my literary development (so we don’t have to argue about whether I was awesome or not). One day, I hope you read my stories and be happy. One day, I hope you think I’m super-mom and the coolest and the awesomest person ever. One day, I hope your dad and I have to dance off to find out who’s the cooler parent because you absolutely cannot decide. I hope to give you everything you need, and assess your wants with you to decide whether you should have them. I hope to lead you to the Way, Himself, and that before I can say ‘Jack how-did-his-name-become-the-measurement-for-time?’, you begin to show me realms about Him I didn’t even know existed. I hope you love yourself and love your neighbours… and that these loves would be great. I hope you enjoy your stay here on earth without having regrets. I hope you always put on smile on someone’s face, for the right reasons. I hope a lot of things for you… but I’ll have to do an intro before I get too carried away. 

So maybe your name is actually not Jedediah. You might not even be a boy. Who knows? Let’s just say that Jedediah is the name we’ll use to describe you before you come (because I really like the name). I talk about you all the time with my roommates that they might actually be tired of you even though you’re not here yet. 

In this letter, I want to tell you about the things I wish would be different for you – different from the way they were for me.  

I hope that you’ll understand your emotions and learn to dominate them. Emotions are tricky but they are to be controlled. You know what they say; don’t eat when you’re sad, don’t talk when you’re angry, don’t make promises when you’re too happy etc. But then, in reality, you’ll find that you cannot really stick to these rules all the time. So instead of not talking when you’re angry, how about you learn to say only seasoned words. Rather than not eating when you’re sad, how about cultivating a general healthy eating lifestyle. Rather than not making promises when you’re too happy, how about you ensure you develop the habit of watching your promises and keeping them.

I hope you steer clear of bad habits and develop good ones. Habits are so important. So so important. They don’t announce their entrance… they creep in in form of daily actions and inactions. Don’t be lazy about developing your attitude. Watch that thought. Watch those words. Watch that friend. Don’t take these little things for granted. Your thoughts are very important… because they form your actions, and like I said earlier, your actions become your habits. Don’t walk with bad people. No matter how much you think you know, or can withstand, bad thoughts are bad. 

I hope you learn love yourself – your spirit, your soul and your body. There are certain things you’ll do if you love your spirit – you will feed it with spiritual food. Read your bible. Pray everyday. Engage in spirit-filled conversations. Just always remember that you are really your spirit and not your body or even your soul. Pay close attention to what the real YOU is saying, feeling, desiring, sensing etc. For your soul, baby, feed your mind, through all your 5 senses, with good vibes only. And your body? I hope you love your body in the way you care for it and in the way you think about it. If you think you’re not hot, then no one would see you as such. I hope that you’re a totally complete man (or woman) – lacking nothing. 

I hope you learn to be honest with yourself. People would lie to you no matter how much of a good person you are. Some will tell you lies because they think/know that that’s what you want to hear. Some would lie to you because they think/know that that’s exactly what you don’t want to hear. While you can learn how to detect liars, my simple advice to you is to know the truth for yourself. It’s not easy, but it’s good investment. 

I hope you never fall prey to the traps of pride. Here’s what pride does to you; it makes you believe you’re more than what you are and then makes you act lesser than you really are. Its overall game is to make you an unprogressive unapproachable ignorant idiot. You nose will be stuck in the air, but you’ll be stinking. You’ll think you’re on a high horse, but it’s all just horseshit. Take it from me, pride is very bad. Although, humility, as meek as it sounds, can be very hard to cultivate. But it takes subjecting your heart to a constant search by yourself and the Word. Only if you ignore those tiny whisperings you hear when you’re being foolish, would you become a prideful idiot. Please don’t be a prideful idiot. 

I hope you know the difference between choosing to love a person, being a slave to a person and just being lust-filled. I really hope you do. 

I have a lot more to tell you, but these are some things I wish I really (like REALLY) knew when I was younger. 

But Jed, you’ll be better than me or your father. You’ll have two amazing parents who would probably not get it right all the time, but would definitely learn you right! And you already have God on your side.

I love you already baby!