Letter to the Future Meredith
Dear Meredith,
I doubt that you will remember much of me now that you are you are grown and have a busy adult life of your own. As I write this you are four years old. I was prompted to write the future you because your Grandfather Frank brought you to church last Sunday. You and I had a brief but pleasant encounter at the refreshment table.
Our church has table of food which has a variety of goodies to eat while we socialize before the church service begins. I was sitting near it when you came in. I hadn’t seen you for months since you now live with your parents in the San Diego area. I greeted you warmly, “Well Hello Meredith!” You looked up at me with a smile even though I’m not sure you remembered who I was.
Your smiling face revealed a lot of information to me about you. Your eyes were wide open, alert as you reached for a paper plate. Clearly there was a lot going on inside your head as you scanned the table and targeted items you wanted. You were assertive, not aggressive, in your hunt. You had an idea about what you liked and didn’t like. You pick a some fruit but you really wanted some of those donut holes. Even though our church was not familiar you were comfortable being there. You were confident. I discerned that you were a bright, friendly, vivacious girl. It was fun to watch you.
Later I told my daughter Joanna about you. She told me that you were in her Sunday school class that day. After the lesson she talked with you and other about what the kids wanted for Christmas. You told her you wanted a Unicorn and some Legos. She said that you interacted well with the others and you had a good time.
You have what I call a “blended” spiritual heritage. Your dad’s family is Roman Catholic. Your mom’s family is a mix of what is known as Mind Science and Conservative Evangelicalism. It would be interesting to hear about how your spirituality turned out.
I believe that the future you will be a grown up version of what I saw last Sunday. You are smart, bright, friendly, and vivacious. You know what you like. You find small groups energizing and you are willing and able to share your ideas with other. You have real leadership qualities. Your blended spirituality will launch you into your own spiritual search, and you will find a way to express your spirituality.
Here is one way that I can help the future you and that is in the way you experience God. You will find God and experience God’s love when you think about your Grandparent’s love. Think about this; Frank could have stayed home with you last Sunday and just played with the four year old you. But he wanted to share something special about God. That is significant!
I often prescribe spiritual exercises for people so here is one for you. Sit down with your family members and ask them about their spirituality and how they express it. I think you will be delighted to hear their answers. Here is another exercise. Frank is a Bible reader so get a hold of one of his old Bibles and see how he marked it. That will tell you much!
There is a lot of empowerment in spirituality, not that you really need more. But here is encouragement from the past to grow in your knowledge and love of God and to give back some of that love which you were nurtured with to the world around you. I am sure that people in your world will need it.
Meredith, I envision a world of possibility and hope for you and just seeing you for a few minutes last Sunday inspired me to write to the future you and tell you that I will be praying for you. God bless you.
I love you – Pastor Bryan Martin
Mark 12:28-31
