Letter to your future self

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Have you ever written a letter to yourself only to be opened in the future?  I did.

In one of the retreats I attended, I wrote a letter to myself, sealed it in an envelope, addressed to me, left it at the retreat office and mailed it to me a year later.  I completely forgot about the letter until I received it.  Excitedly opened it, read it, put it back in the envelope, stored it away and cannot recall the content of the letter.  Currently, I don’t know where I have hidden it.  Maybe one day, I’ll find it before I die or maybe my family will.

What brought me to write this is due to Taylor.

Taylor was a vibrant 12-year old girl.  She died young due to pneumonia-related complications.  When her parents were going through her things, they discovered a sealed envelope addressed to her future self:  “To be opened by Taylor Smith on April 13, 2023, only unless said otherwise,”

The letter reads:

little girlDear Taylor,

How’s life? Life is pretty simple right now (10 years in your past). I know I’m late for you, but as I’m writing, this is early, so; congratulations on graduating high school! If you didn’t go back and keep trying. Get that degree! Are you (we) in college? If not, I understand. We do have pretty good reasoning, after all. Don’t forget, it’s Allana’s 11th birthday today! Sheesh, 11 already? In my time, she just turned 1! I didn’t get to go to that party though, because I was in Cranks, Kentucky for my first mission trip. I’ve only been back for 6 days!

Speaking of, how’s your relationship with GOD? Have you prayed, worshipped, read the bible, or gone to serve the lord recently? If not, get up and do so NOW! I don’t care what point in our life we’re in right now, do it! He was mocked, beaten, tortured, and crucified for you! A sinless man, who never did you or any other person any wrong!

Read the rest of the letter here.

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20 thoughts on “Letter to your future self”

  5. Aw, what a vibrant person to be lost so young. I’ve written poems that were like hieroglyphics of my past self, and I was joyful to discover process there.

    Reply ↓

      • I was thinking that yes, she is a very old soul; this time for her was a short time, but her profoundness came from her remembering. The letter is a blessing, indeed!

        And to you, too! Cher xo

  7. Hello my sweet friend I am writing this to you while sitting in the garage while waiting for my car to have its 24000 mile service, I had to be here by 8.30am and its 35 miles from where I live so it took me a while to get here into Dundee through the rush hour traffic the rain and still being in body shock that I had to rise at 7 o’clock and here is me thinking that only one 7 o’clock existed, it fooled me didnt it. 🙂

    Anyway your question have I ever wrote a letter to myself for the future, the answer had to be yes.

    I was 10 years of age and just watched been to a day trip to the cathedral city of Lincoln, with my mother, auntie Betty and my 8 year old sister Wendy. We visited the cathedral first whrre I learned about the infamous ‘Lincoln Imp’. When the cathedral was being built in the 14th century, the devil sent an Imp who came at night and tore down what the builders had put up, night after night this would happen until the builders pleaded with God to help, so the Almighty sent an Angel who once the builders had left waited around for this Imp and the Angel called out to the Imp,
    “why are you destroying what Gods servents are building”
    The Imp replied
    “Le ave me alone or I will pill down the walls done on you, the devil can do what he likes”
    With that while the Imp sat on a ledge at the top of a supporting pillar, the Angel turned the Imp to stone for his wicked ways and to remind Gods people that he is in command of all things.
    We went to the castle a fantastic 14th century building with its complete walls which you can walk all the way around a 18th century prison which is now s museum complete with the prison chapel which every seat is seperated with a door to stop the prisoners from speaking to each other, court house which to this day still deals with the naughty of Lincolnshire. My auntie Betty was stung by a bee as we rolled down the grassy banks within the castle. I didn’t realise what the real reason we were there until I overheard my mother and grandmother talking a few days later then I had to ask my auntie Betty what was a divorce was, she explained that my parents were divorcing and that was at the court finalising it all.

    Back to my letter……

    I went to Barcroft Junior school just 10 minute walk from my home now fatherless but I was always taught that I can do anything with my life, during the playtime the school janitor was telling a few of use that this Victorian school is getting old and maybe one day when we all had children of our own that the school will be either knocked down or converted into homes for people to buy, this was in the 70’s and conversions of old buildings was a new idea, the Janitor turned to me and said maybe one of you will buy it and convert it to houses, you never know.

    So my mind got to thinking and I had convinced myself that one day I will become a builder and buy the school and turn them into houses. Where I sat was next to a window and the old floorboards had cracks, so I wrote myself a letter saying hello to myself and telling myself about what the Janitor had said and to give him a job when they close the school as I would be rich and I could fo these things, then I posted the letter which was wrote in my best hand writing and posted it into a crack in the floorboards. That was 1973.

    The present day, I am not a rich builder, it wasnt until two years ago when I visited my home town that Barcroft Junior school has been converted into luxury apartments 10 years previously. I wonder if the builders found my letter or is it still laying there under Victorian polished or carpeted floorboards just waiting until till I get rich and buy the appartment which was classroom 3.

    http://www.heritage-explorer.co.uk/web/he/searchdetail.aspx?id=9179&crit=Craft

    Reply ↓

    • Pete, you are just too funny writing a letter instead of a comment. Hope you car is all tuned up. What a story, Pete and sorry about the intro to the story. That’s rather a beautiful building. Would be interesting if they found and kept your letter. That’s ancient history of 41 years. Good to hear from you.

      Reply ↓

      • I would love to find that letter, I bet they found some wonderful things while converting the school to apartments. I do hope they never got rid of the scraper sharping stone, at first look at this it looked like a brick built well capped with a large piece of stone carved into a wheel shape to fit snugly on top, it wasn’t a well, in Victoria schools, children did their work on a slate about the size of A5 paper and the children would have a sharpened stylo and would scape their work on to the slate, then the teacher would check it, mark in her book to say the work had been done then the child would wipe the slate. The stylo’s were sharpened on the stone. When I went to school there in the 70’s decimalization had come in and we had all new coinage and the large old pennies were obsolete so we used to take them to school and rub the coins smooth, both sides, removing the Queens head from the coin at that time was illegal and the teachers used to tell us to stop doing it, but children being children we sneaked back and carried on. I loved that school and apart from the bullies, I loved the whole experience. Nice to hear from you too. 🙂

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