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Dear baby,

This is Melody, writing to you the night before you are born into this world. 

There are a couple things you might want to know. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not for several years, but eventually.

Eventually you realize that this world is not perfect, and neither are the people living in it. 

First off, I can’t believe I am 21 years older than you. When you are my age, I will be in my forties! Gosh I probably won’t have everything figured out then either. But maybe for your first twenty years, I might know a few things. 

1. There is evil in the world. 

Don’t let it deceive you with anything that looks shiny!! 

Many things in life will appear to be amazing, but they will leave you empty. So even if   your friends are “doing it,” and it’s “no big deal,” know that this world doesn’t offer you anything that will give you peace or joy. 

The things of this world, aka the lust of the eyes and the flesh and the pride of life, is like a tasty bowl of ice cream. It will taste good until you have finished a whole bowl and realized you’ve got to live with that choice tomorrow and burn off the fat… 

Don’t settle. 

Don’t give up hope either. Because although the world is evil, God is good. 

2. Don’t trust in yourself. 

Yes, this sounds weird. 

The world is full of speeches about, “being yourself” and “only you know what’s best for you.” 

But the book of Proverbs is full of passages regarding how a person who trusts in only himself ends up failing because humans are imperfect. 

The only thing worth trusting in is God, and we learn about him through his Word. 

It’s called the Bible, which I’m sure you have already heard of. 

This book might seem big and boring at your age, but it is precious, and the key to understanding righteousness and wisdom and how to love are written in these ancient pages. The key to having a purpose-driven life resides in knowing Jesus and abiding in his words. 

Cherish it. 

Read it when you don’t feel like reading it. 

Live by it. 

3. You are loved, and never forget it! 

First and foremost you are loved by God, and almost everyone- everyone but God- was shocked to hear that you would be arriving in the summer of July 2019. 

But God wasn’t surprised, because he created you and knew you and designed you. 

Always remember that God loves you- it’s very important! 

But also know your family loves you: your dad, your mom, your siblings, your grandparents… And a lot of aunts, uncles and cousins! All of whom are excited to meet you. 

Oh, also myself. I love you. 

4. Be careful of the people you choose. 

Your brain won’t be fully developed until your 20s. 

Literally, your frontal lobe, the piece of your brain that processes information and makes judgement calls, isn’t fully formed until 20 something years after you are born! 

So a time might come in your teenage years where you think that you are an adult and can make adult decisions.. 

Well one adult decision you must be very careful of is who you love, and who you become friends with. The people you put in your life will have an impact on you, so put good people in your life!

Godly people. 

Friends who will hold you accountable when you struggle. 

Also, crushes don’t last. 

Middle school relationships shouldn’t be called relationships, and in high school you are still hormonal. 

Choosing who to love and who you give your heart to is important, because if you don’t tread wisely your heart might break if you give it to the wrong person! 

I want you to fall in love with your best friend, a person you don’t want to live without. 

Someone who will take care of you when you are sick or old or ugly or cranky. 

Someone who pushes you towards Jesus, who prays with you and values your opinion. 

So don’t take lightly choosing who to love and who you want to spend the rest of your life with. It’s an adult decision with lifelong consequences! 

5. Don’t be an idiot. 

I’m not going to write you a book, not today. So my final point is this: don’t be an idiot. 

If your conscious tells you “Hey! I shouldn’t be doing this,” LISTEN TO IT! 

Also, one day, hopefully, you will come to realize who Jesus is and what he did for you – dying on a cross to save you from sin (all the bad actions you commit), so you can live with him in heaven forever! 

And once you realize this and if you decide to commit your life to living for him, his Holy Spirit will live in you and help you make good decisions as well as comfort you if something bad happens and you need help. 

So, always remember there is someone not very far away who can help: God. Because to some extent, we are all idiots without God. 

That’s all for now. I’m sure life can’t be solved with five points but I’m hoping these will help you along your way. 

You will always have a friend in me, even though you might go through a stage where you think you are “too cool” for me! Well, you’d be wrong. I was cool for 21 years before you were even born so I got a head start on “coolness.”

I love you, and I’ll see you tomorrow. 

Melody Brooke

Melody Siebenmann