Dear Younger Me

around 1997

Dear Diana,
     
    Breathe. No really. I mean it. Take this moment, and breathe. Intentionally. I know you're afraid, and you are soooo scared that you'll "mess things up." Let me remind you of one small detail (this is sarcasm, I know you hardly use it), God is God and He is for you. You're not somehow going to ruin the plan He has for your life, so just breathe and trust in His sovereignty. Let me break things down for you based on the things you're probably concerned about.

Faith   Php 1:6 is going to be one of your favorite verses. "Being confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will continue it until the day of Jesus Christ". "He who calls you is faithful, He will surely do it" (I Thess 5:24). You'll learn to trust these promises and hold on to them, especially in seasons when everything around you seems to be crumbling. When your self-righteousness fails, and it will, Jesus will be faithful to open your eyes to the reality that He's truly paid it all. God will call you deeper into an understanding of suffering  (wont be fun), but afterwards you'll have a fuller understanding of God and His goodness and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. You're only scratching the surface of the awesomeness of your Maker, and the real,raw, and sometimes uncomfortable implications of living a life marked by His love.

Fear
    This is an f-word that you really need to kick in the face. It's going to rear it's head again...repeatedly. But somewhere along the way, the Lord is going to teach you to not respond out of fear. Yes, its going to stop you from majoring in what you want to in college, and from doing a lot of other awesome things, and it almost stopped you from marrying the man you love (..almost),
****************yes..(you fall in love and get married and become a mom)...I'll address this in a bit.Well actually, I wont because I know you'll get paranoid and try clinging to it, instead of having faith in God...see how well I know you? Been there. Done that ;)***********
But, eventually,the voice of the Holy Spirit  will get louder than your fear..and you'll learn to follow His voice, and take chances when He gives you choices (yes, He does this).

Friendships

2010

   You have amazing friends! You'll continue to have amazing friends. You're going to meet people who will impact your life forever. Love them. Love them dearly, and let them know that they are loved, not just in words,but in action. Intentionally take time to spend with them, few things are more important than forging these relationships. Enjoy the season in life when you can spend hours on end talking and goofing off, because it wont always be like that. I know it's sometimes easier to  have your friends 'wait', but don't get in the habit of it. In the same vein, stop beating yourself up for not being "good enough". Show yourself grace. Apologize for mistakes, and don't get stuck in guilt or regret because these will eat you up. There will be pain along the journey, but remember my first piece of advice, He who calls you is faithful. He also has an amazing way of carrying you through the most painful hurts.

Family
   This one's kind of easy. They are awesome..and they're faithful. Tell them you love them as often as you can.

Future
You'll never have this all figured out. That's okay. You're not going to lose your passion for acting, or Jamaica, or people and oh yeah..you're love for worshiping Jesus through music..is going to go..public..yeah. You're going to get married to an amazing man, but don't spend time obsessing over this, in the same breath, don't spend time trying to avoid crushes. Haha. Your love for people-- wasn't your doing----it was His, and it was purposeful.
Your future...our future is beautiful.With all the beauty and mess called life, God is faithful..and good. He is very good. So breathe, He who began a good work in you will complete it. I love you.
   

2018