she will be loved.

This post is written for this beaming sixteen-year-old pictured below.

then.

You've guessed it, that's bright-eyed me at sixteen. And this one goes out to her...

I've been really tired these past few days and with all we have going on, being extra exhausted kinda comes with the territory. But while driving home from work, listening to music on the radio, singing to Marabelle like I usually do, I was silently processing my day, thinking of what I had done and all I still wanted to do. In the middle of itemizing the imaginary to-do-list floating in my head, a song came on the radio and I was quickly shoved in a time machine and transported all the way back to the land of sweet sixteen. I have a love/hate relationship with these abrupt time machine transports that happen unexpectedly while hearing certain song lyrics, it's the same type of memory possession that happens when you pass by old stamping grounds, smell scents from the past, or look at pictures of days gone by...all of which, without your permission, take you back.

Sixth period, dance team, is where this time machine dropped me off. It was an off-day for us, meaning we weren't working on a particular routine, we were just having a little fun. One of the girl's on my team decided to play Maroon 5's, "She will be loved," and everyone in the room got off our bums, and we sang the words as we danced to the beat. And with the excitement oozing from a new-hit song, combined with a room full of overflowing teenage hearts, our singing performance tightly bordered what some would obnoxiously label as 'yelling.' But we each felt the music, we each believed the words, we each wanted to own them, we each wanted to embody them, we each wanted to experience them, and we each never wanted to let them go.

Sixteen-year-old me believed in love, wholeheartedly. She longed to feel beautiful to that one special guy. She wanted prince charming's attention and she hoped his love would always last.

If someone had told me then, that I wouldn't end up marrying my high school sweetheart, time would make me stronger, true friends would stay by my side, if my pants felt too tight, they probably were, and that God's plan for me was far greater than one I could have single-handedly designed, I don't know if I would have believed all of their insightful predictions. Because sometimes it's hard for us to see past the street where we are currently standing.

As I revisited that wooden dance floor and stared into the reflection of my dance team's version of the Maroon 5 hit, I wanted to run up to sixteen-year-old me, tuck back her blonde-highlighted hair, and whisper these words in her ear...

"The woman you hope to some day be, is proud of you, despite any mistakes you've made or have yet to make. Don't spend time sweating the small stuff, you won't even remember the worries that threaten to keep you up all night. You are beautiful, you always have been and you always will be, and don't let any guy make you believe otherwise. You will surprise yourself more often than not. Your words will remain your passion. You'll break hearts and feel heart ache. You'll learn how fragile the heart is, but your hope of forever love is fulfilled by the God who created your heart, trust in Him, always. For His wisdom exceeds any logic your pretty mind attempts to reason with. The world won't always revolve around you and that's the beauty of it all. You'll be a wife to an amazing man and the type of mama you never thought you could be. You'll learn that the best gift you receive, is the one you first give. And on the hardest days, please let love cast out your fears. For when you choose faith, when you choose hope, and when you choose love, you will meet the woman who's whisper this is. So fear not, for the true love you've always believed in, exists, and the woman you dream about becoming, I think you should know, she will be loved."

now.

With a heart full of love,
                     ♡ you, from a few streets down
::