Wisdom to My Old Self

By Darlene Reid

If I could leave a voice note to my younger self, the transcript may say:

The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day has become a time of reflection for me. I often get a good chuckle from what I believed the Lord directed me to focus on at the top of the year and how I saw it come alive throughout my life that year. Over the past several years, one to three verses from Scripture have gripped my attention each year for the entire year. You would find this shocking because when we were even younger we would devour entire books of the Bible in days/weeks and search for themes across books. For quite a while, you were obsessed with increasing your biblical knowledge. You were full of good intentions and terrible judgments. Since then, God has taught us a lot.

To the younger me,

Hey there, 22-year-old you. I’m you from the future. I know. I know, I’m giving Harry Potter/Time Travel­er’s Wife vibes but focus. You are in a funky space with your faith right now and can’t articulate it. You’ve traveled the world, seen humanity at its best and worst, grown distant from your best friend, found yourself alone in a new state, and your plans post-graduation are as solid as sand all while your inner child has a growing demand for justice.

Can I encourage you? The Lord sees you. It feels insufficient, but plant that truth deep in your heart. He sees you, and he’s with you. Don’t throw yourself away; you are capable. It does not feel that way, but the Lord will teach you about Himself as He heals you. Your competence and confidence will come from and be in Him. You’re brilliant, and the Lord will use it. Be kind to yourself as you take one step at a time.

I know you think I’m wasting time by not giving you hot financial tips or cool things to watch out for so you can invest and make us richer. It’s taking all my strength. Seriously though, there are some skills you should hone sooner rather than later.

I started this note with encouragement and compassion for a reason. God will use the mundane to reveal Himself. It has been through encouragement and compassion that I’ve seen miracles. Jesus did the most curious things when filled with compassion. Your ability to freely give encouragement should cause you to interrogate your heart; compassion will drive you to prayer. Holy Spirit-inspired encouragement requires both truth and grace. Get curious when it becomes difficult to encourage yourself and others. When it is hard to come on the lips, the Lord will grasp your heart as to why, since it’s out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. A healthy rhythm of offering all of the heart’s deceitful and wonderful contents to the Lord to transform is necessary. Check your heart; it’ll help you implement the basics of your faith. The heart has interesting ways of making other things more important. Let God show you a hearty encouragement. It’ll unearth the shallowness of your compliments to appease people or sustain false peace. Holy Spirit-informed encouragement is attuned, truthful, thoughtful, and gracious with no trace of meaningless pleasantries. Now on to prayer which has become our lifeline. I’ve found prayer to be a master key to unlocking numerous things in every area of life. Understanding similarities and differences in prayer from different denominations and our spiritual ancestors over Church history has encouraged me in the expansive ways we can approach God’s throne of grace. Martin Luther King Jr. states in his book Strength to Love that he’d want to be tender-hearted and tough-minded as a Christian. Wise as serpents, gentle as doves is how Jesus advises His disciples. The mechanics of showing compassion and love with a critical mind and a tender heart gets ironed out in prayer. Our need to see pain relieved in the world around us will drive us to our knees to give it to the person who could do it best: Jesus. Prayer has helped our heart posture to respond well when:

1. God says he’s on the case and for us to do nothing.

2. God shockingly suggests I am or have the answer to the prayer.

3. God gives the capacity to lament and rejoice with a person until the answer arrives. It’s been glorious.

While I would like to say much more, I wouldn’t want to ruin your future discoveries with HG (Holy Ghost). Encouragement and compassion are muscles. Put them to work and I trust that as you build a healthy foundation in your faith you’ll find healthy rhythms, many miracles, and much joy. Pay attention to Jesus’s humanity and divinity and let me know how much encouragement and compassion you find there.

See you soon.

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Darlene Reid is a descendant of Jamaican cultivators, domestic workers, and faith-filled encouragers. For the past decade, she has seen this legacy in her work as a youth worker, educator, and scientist, as she helps people solve complex problems with curiosity, efficiency, and grace. Writing for her is like sipping tea; it’s an oppor­tunity to savor and remember.