Dear Nine-Year Old Me,

            There will one day be a time when you love spending time at home on the weekends. You might not think that is possible now but it is. You will love the simplicity of just being – being at home, being with your family, being in the kitchen, being outside.

            You will take so much comfort in having breakfast around a kitchen table with a family. Of course, you will still get excited as you get to eat carrot cake for breakfast. This you would never think you would enjoy, but, yes, you will even find joy in washing dishes. Afterward, a hike to a waterhole will not even make you cranky as you walk hand-in-hand with your new friends. You will still of course love a breath taking view of the mountains. I don’t think you will ever get tired of their vastness. You will also have fun as you help your new family rake leaves to burn. When you are served a dish full of rice and vegetables that you can’t even pronounce, you will be filled with gratitude, and to your full surprise right now you will even like the food. I guess what mom always says about your taste buds changing is true after all. Having a mom to treat, clean, and pick lice out of your hair will no longer be taken for granted. Watching a movie on a Saturday night will still be a favorite enjoyment. You will long to eat a popsicle like you always do during a movie, but you will then know what insignificant sacrifices are. Waking up on a Sunday morning to sit in church for a few hours will not be filled with dread. Rather, you will look with anticipation to that time for corporate worship. The fact that you get to go out to eat after church will still fill you with excitement, and of course you will change out of your church clothes once you get home. I guess what mom said about how old habits die young is true.

            This may all sound crazy, but it is true. And that passion in your heart to learn about different types of people will still be there. So here is some advice – keep that passion.

- You at Twenty-years-old