The thank you letter we should all write to ourselves.

“ Some women are lost in the fire, others are build from it”

Thats a loaded little quote isn’t it?

Strong women, where do they really come from? I fully believe that they are not born, but are made. Formed by their life experiences, heartbreaks, their successes and their failures. We as women must become longsufferers in order to get to where we want in life. And usually our roads are long, strenuous and ultimately never really end. It sounds rough but have you ever met a woman who captivated you from the moment you saw her? Even more so when you got to talking to her? She would proceed to tell you that she “just went for it and figured it out along the way…” She would tell you she made adjustments based on whatever the next step was and that she always knew to be flexible with herself and the process.

When we think of this woman we want to be her. To be her we need to walk life with intentionality and courage. Think of the woman you want to be. How would she speak? What would she say to you, in this season of life you are in?

Everyone knows that written exercises are powerful. So I decided to really think about it and came up with this letter to my future self and it turned out better than expected.

The Heart: This exercise comes from a place of grace. Grace for yourself. Grace from God - knowing that we are enough where we are at. That the things we want out of life already have our names on them. That all we need to do is rest and take in the grace we do my best to extend to others.

I hope you can take this letter and use the beginnings of each sentence to guide you into self reflection.

“To my future self.”

Thank you,

For allowing yourself -to make mistakes, learning from them and pivoting when needed.

For embracing - the seasons of solitude and leaning in when they came.

For running towards - the things that scared you, they became the doors that opened up freedom.

For refusing -to live life in a negative metal space and always finding a way out into the light.

For loving - the people closest to you with intentionality and kindness.

For doing your best to - rest and work hard when the time called for it.

For keeping your gaze - on things above and seeing light in all things. For never forgetting - that you are not of this world.

After I wrote this out it is I realized that everything I wanted to hear someone tell me and to remember - was all right there. Sometimes our loved ones don’t have the words. They don’t know the deepest parts of us, really. But God does. And if we prayerfully do this exercise I really believe there will be a pressure that releases. Life is hard sometimes and little activities like this can help us reset and focus us on the things that matter. This exercise isn’t about pride - but created to give you a little credit if you are feeling worn down by life or uninspired. If you are in a great place, its to encourage you to keep going. To keep doing good knowing that you are at your best when you understand who’s you are.

If you’d like to share this with your friends - Here’s an image you can share on all platforms. :)

Signing off for today.

Warmly,

Janna Tenney