Dear Baby Joval,
You are beautiful. You are smart. You are wise. You are intuitive. You are knowing. You are discerning. You are divine. You are celestial. You are bold. You are courageous. You are an advocate. You are sincere. You are ethereal. You are sensitive. You are hilarious. You are cautious. You are curious. You are sweet. You are growing. You are evolving. You are a leader. You are creative. You are mature. You are complete. You are everything you should be, regardless of what people say.
For people who play too small, you will always be too much. Too sensitive. Too smart. Too bold. Too courageous. Too much of everything they think they aren’t, but simply don’t know they are. And it’s not your problem to correct. It’s not your concern. Your only concern is God. And in him, you are. You’re only concern is you. Not selfishly, but lovingly. “Love your neighbors as yourself.” Patiently and kindly. You may help those who want it. “Those who have eyes, let them see.” Their eyes, their vision, their sight. All of it is theirs. Don’t insist or pressure or demand anything of them. They are who they want to be just like you are who you want to be. And who you’ve always wanted to be is yourself, who you really are. So be it.
For people who play too big, you are too little. Not enough. Not funny. Not smart. Not wise. Not knowing. And that’s not your business, either. It’s not your business to right size them. It’s your business to be right sized. Life will humble them so you don’t need to. Pray for them and move on.
Whether they’re playing too big or too small, never mind them. Don’t let them sway you. Don’t “match their energy” as people who lack maturity like to say. You lead, you don’t follow. You have been leading since before you understood what a leader even was. So lead with love and kindness, even if it’s a goodbye.
Stand firmly and deeply rooted in who God created you to be because in him, you are enough. In him, you are excellent. In him, you are strong. In him, you are wise. In him, you are victorious. In him, you are gracious. In him, there is nothing you can’t do. In him, you are limitless. In him, you are abundant. In him, you are perfect. You were, after all, made in his image.
You see what others don’t. What some others won’t. Not that they can’t, but won’t. Again, that’s not your business. Let Truth always be your North Star. Not what people say is true. Rather, listen to how the truth of their words speak to your spirit and what it feels like when it reverberates in your body. Be skeptical. Be cautious. Or perhaps, don’t! You don’t need to when you listen to your body. Your body keeps the score. It knows. It always knows. You know with certainly and assuredness when they say “yes” but your spirit whispers “no” what that feels like. Don’t doubt it. Don’t question it. Embrace it. Listen to it. Heed it. Cherish it. Thank God for it!
God. God?! That intuition you have? It’s God-given. It is God! So embrace it. Love it. It saves you time and time and time again. From some known and unknown. Don’t run from it anymore. You run from things we don’t understand.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6 New International Version
And you? You’ve always understood God. You’ve always known God. You will be deceived to ignore your deep knowing. Correction, people will try to deceive you to ignore all of what you know to get what they want out of you, but you’ll win when you listen to that still small voice. You always do. You may stumble, but you won’t fall. You can’t fall because God lives in you. You are God in action.
You believe living well is aligning mind, body, and spirit. And then you read,
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
2 Corinthians 3:17 NIV
It was always there. Now you know why the aforementioned is true. It’s really mind, body, and freedom.
Let the truth disrupt and liberate you. Let your curiosity continue to lead you. Let the Truth and the Light captivate you. What you seek is seeking you. You’ve sought enough of the foolishness. You’ve been foolish and immature long enough. No more. This is your time. Your season. Your life!
So run to God. Pursue him in everything. Chase him down. Seek and find him. Nothing is off limits to God. Not physical health, not clutter, not mindset, not parking spots. Not someone changing your tire on a wintry night on your way home from school or someone being there to open the front door when your arms are full with groceries. Not one thing. As you continue to grow in relationship with him, you’ll realize he’s far bigger than you ever knew. Than you were taught to believe. He’s infinite! He’s far bigger than the limits people placed on him that you believed.
Don’t limit God. Don’t limit people. And definitely don’t limit yourself. Limiting yourself is limiting God. Don’t enslave yourself with your human limitations. Be as big and gracious and free and abundant as the God who created you.
What you dreamed in your mind has come to be in reality before, and you have all the power within you to continue to do it again. It’s your divine right. So do it. Honor your God with your life. With your body. With your mind. In your freedom.
Go where you want to go. Not everyone will go with you. Not everyone wants to go with you. Not everyone desires freedom. And that’s okay. Thank them for riding with you until they did and wish them well as they continue on. You owe them nothing and they owe you nothing. Accept who they are for who they truly are and don’t be upset when they are who they are and not who you want them to be. Life is easier when you accept the truth as it is, not as you wish it were. The latter? That’s… Painful. That’s trouble. Perhaps even delusional. That’s hurtful. You’ve hurt yourself enough living how you were taught to live. Empower yourself to continue to live better, greater, bolder, lighter, more righteously, more abundantly.
This is your one life. You are, everybody is!, actively dying. Each breath you breathe is bringing you closer to your last. Embrace this finite human life you have and create heaven on earth for yourself. Poverty isn’t righteous. Wealth is. Poverty is limiting and wealth is generous. Exchange poverty of thought, ideas, opportunity, lack with an abundance of love, financial wealth, luxury, glory, and grace.
Continue to watch in wonder and amazement as your life continues to bloom, expand, and unfold. Watch with glee as you experience God more fully.
Watch. Share. Serve.
Continue to live more deeply, lovingly, and faithfully like your sisterfriend Lark taught you to live. This is honoring her legacy and creating your own.
The world can be bitter. But you, dear Joval, you are honey. And life is always sweet.
With the deepest love,
