Hey there.

As a twenty-two year old still struggling to finish college, the words “future daughter” or “future anything” probably shouldn’t be floating around my conscious. Yet here I am, writing to someone I have yet to meet, when I should probably be studying, doing laundry, or entertaining some other responsibility I’m successfully evading – I pray to God that my knack for procrastination will not be something you’ll inherit from me.

I don’t really know what prompted me to write this letter in the first place, since starting a family is nowhere to be seen in the near future. Maybe I’ve had “Growing Up” by Macklemore and Ed Sheeran on repeat for too long. Maybe I’m trying to distract myself from my adult responsibilities – dishes can wash themselves, right? Maybe I actually have some life advice that I want to give you and want to jot it all down before I forget. In any case, whether or not this letter somehow finds its way to you, I have a few things to say.

Lately, over the past several months, I have endured some of the most stressful circumstances I’ve ever had to face in my entire life. There is a part of me that desperately wants to believe that I’ve endured the worst of it and that life gets easier. But here’s a little dose of reality that will be sure to knock you down – life never gets easier.

A huge chunk of the stress I’ve undergone is largely due to the overwhelming feeling of inadequacy. I didn’t pass that class because I’m not smart enough. I didn’t land that job because I wasn’t impressive enough. I didn’t get that girl because I’m not man enough. I’ve been through these and more, truly convinced that I wasn’t insert-adjective-here enough. You, too, will go through similar experiences where you will be knocked down so many times, it will seem like every wall is closing in on you, and you’re left to suffocate with nowhere to go.

But here’s what I realized.

I am good enough. I am worthy. And you are, too. Why? Because that’s what God tells me every single day.

I want you to know that you don’t ever need to prove yourself to anyone. You don’t need a job to feel worthy. You don’t need straight-A’s to feel smart. You don’t need to be on top to feel strong. You don’t need a man to feel beautiful.

You will go through experiences that will knock you down, and you’ll be left stumbling in the wind feeling helpless. But if there’s one piece of wisdom I could give to you, it’s this: God would never put you through anything He knows you can’t handle. This may seem so daunting at first, and you’ll dread the road ahead of you. But when you think about it, how amazing and reassuring is it that God believes in you so much, that He will strengthen you through the toughest of situations?

You see, God doesn’t put you through difficult situations to punish you. God wants to see you succeed. God wants to strengthen you. And as long as you seek Him and ask for strength, He will deliver because He believes in you. All you have to do is believe in Him.

So when you feel like nothing is going right, when you feel like you just keep getting knocked down over and over again, when you feel like nobody, not even yourself, believes in you, please know that God believes in you. God knows that you are enough. For the love of God, you are more than enough. You are you.

Life doesn’t get easier, but life does get better.

I love you, and I can’t wait to meet you.