10 Things I want My Sisters To Know

10 Things I Want My Sisters To Know:

• Brains will always beat out beauty. People will pay a lot more attention to you if you can discuss more than lengthening mascara vs. curling.
• You do not need to be a damsel in distress just because you are a feminine princess. You can be a strong capable, smart and attractive woman in pink dress and heels too.
• Don't complain about boys and how you'll never have a boyfriend. Seriously, its not attractive. Also, you should not be “with” someone unless you find someone worth being with. Try to only date guys you could see yourself marrying.
• If you have something to say to someone, say it. Don't be fake to people. Trust people, but be careful with your secrets. Don't let disappointments make you jaded.
• Never sacrifice your identity because people make fun of you. If you like reading, read. If you like going to Church, go to church. If you like to make rainbow cake while tap-dancing and reciting bad poetry, do it when I'm not home. Enjoy being a dork. Don't let anyone ever take that away from you. (On a side note, never sacrifice your identity just to get a guy to like you. He should like the whole package, including the parts of you that are not so attractive.)
• You are beautiful no matter what. Makeup or no, sweatpants or ballgown, a mess or put together, happy or sad. You are more than what you look like, and the value of you is so much more than what other people can see. Always know that.
• Making mistakes in life is okay, but don't let making mistakes be all you do.
• The only person's expectations you have to live up to is your own, and if you do the best you can, I'm so proud of you.
• You should never compromise your morals. Believe what you believe and do not let anyone take that away from you, and don't lower your standards just because everyone else does, or says its okay. You know its not.
• You are loved no matter what. No matter how much you mess up I will always be here, and God is always on your side.

For I know the plans I have for you.

Today I'm at my the school my mom teaches at. There are a ton of little kids here, from like 13 down to the two little newborns sitting in their car seats. One little one, whose probably around 2ish, has these great shoes that squeak as she runs. I can hear her with my headphones in, and I can hear her mother chasing after her. In the past hour she's been chased out of the bathroom twice, down the hall more times than I can count, and out of the quiet room even more. Her little squeaking shoes always let her mom know where she is, and always seem to ruin her plans of diving headfirst into the toilet for a swim..

Now, unlike this little beastie, we don't have squeaky shoes which allow someone to run after us and make sure we're okay and not swimming in the toilet. So we get to go our own way, and if we do something wrong we don't get chased out by a watchful eyes. Because of this, we sometimes get to go toilet diving, or do something that seems awesome in theory but we know we shouldn't do. Sometimes, God says, "don't dive in the toilet!" and we feel like a teenager whose mom tells them they can't go to that party. We feel like He's taking away the fun and ruining our lives. Other times, things are overwhelming and too much for us to handle, it feels like we have to do it alone no matter how large and ridiculous the task. Our lives aren't simply laid out for us, and that is often when we start to feel alone, and we wish for a pair of squeaky shoes that can lead us into something happy and good.

In Jeremiah (29:11) it says, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Remember the mom and the little girl with the squeaky shoes? Well her mom wasn't trying to be awful and ruin her toilet diving adventures. She was trying to make sure that she could have a future and a hope for a life without squeaking shoes. God is like that mother sometimes. Sometimes things don't work out for a REASON. You keep trying and trying and trying and you know what? Sometimes that's not the future you're meant to have.