Dear Younger Me,
Guard your heart. Your heart, your spirit, is a beautiful thing God has given to you. Protect what is there, and be careful with what you let in. You learned how important defense was in high school basketball. More than anything else on the court, playing solid defense was your job. You had some tough assignments to guard some talented opposing players, to keep them from getting the ball and scoring on your team. What if you learned to defend and guard your own heart?
The deceiver will trick you and make you doubt yourself, but oh, how I wish you would learn to recognize what are lies and what is true, before you let those doubts make their home in your heart. Guard your faith. Don’t let the circumstances of this broken world chip away at the faith you have in your God. In the book of 1 Timothy in the Bible, Paul writes to Timothy, saying, “Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you.” The faith that Timothy had needed to be protected because there would be other people he’d encounter who had different beliefs.
For you, it might not necessarily be other people who challenge your beliefs. It may be society, and it may just be the enemy beating you down. But guard what you have and don’t let go. Other words in Scripture say to hold fast to what is good and hold on to your crown. Hold on, guard your heart, protect the vulnerable places that your mind and heart are.
And the good news is, you aren’t alone in guarding your heart. You have the people around you to remind you of who you are and what the truth is. They help you, along with God’s Word, to reinforce your heart and mind. And you have God’s Word, you have Him, to woo you, to speak and sing His love over you.
Love,
Megan
