Dear Sara... Letters of Life Margie Latch
Dear Sara... Letters of Life Margie Latch MLS Creative Hendersonville Hendersonville, TN Publisher
2013 MLS Creative Hendersonville Published in the United States of America. All rights reserved. No part of this book/ebook may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine, newspaper, blog, or website without permission in writing from the Author. ISBN-13:978-0615847894 For more information please contact: mlscreativehendersonville@gmail.com
Dedication This book is dedicated to Ernie Congdon. Ernie, without your encouragement, your prodding, your pushing and your praying, this book would not have happened because I never would have pursued writing as a career. Thank you also for your patience to stick in there with me, even when it would have been easier to walk away. Hopefully, when all is said and done, it will have been worth all the effort. Ernie, you re a great woman in general, and a mighty woman of God, who sets a fine example to follow! I love you Ernie Congdon!
T hank You! Celebration of Life Church (COLC), in Hendersonville, TN is God s hospital and the Pastors Morgan (Pastor Joseph Morgan, Pastor Yolanda Morgan, and Pastor Wess Morgan) are some of the finest spiritual surgeons you will ever meet. To give you an idea just how powerful they are, God moved me over 800 miles from my home in Pennsylvania to Hendersonville, Tennessee in order to save my life through this ministry. Now, not only has my life been saved, but it has been reinvented, as well. Pastors, I love you will all my heart. Thank you for your love and diligence in helping the broken become whole.
Preface The idea for this book originated with this thought If I knew that I knew that I knew, that I would be gone this time next year, how would I want to spend my time, and what would I want to leave behind? Sara came to my mind. Sara is a very precious friend, who happens to be 13 years old with the writing of this book. We met five years ago, right after her eighth birthday, and during a tumultuous time in her life. Her need for support, met my need to remove some of the obvious burden on her spirit, and we became fast friends. This book says some of what I d want her to know, if I weren t able to share it myself, as the years go by.
I ve written these letters to you because there are some things I want to make sure you know, and can keep handy. Life holds no guarantees, and I didn t want to run the risk of missing you in your need. While the letters in this book are rooted in my love for you, my hope is that anyone who chooses to read them will be edified and blessed. I love you my sweet girl, Miss Margie 1
There is nothing, nothing NOTHING more important nothing that even comes close to being as important than maintaining a deep and close relationship with Jesus. Talk to Him, walk with Him, and take time to really listen to Him daily. Read your bible, even if it s only a little bit at a time. Make notes in the margins of the special things God shares with you. Invite Him to come and be with you, and then soak in his presence. Let Jesus be, not only be your Lord and Savior, but your very best friend, as well. 2
You were fearfully and wonderfully made by God, Himself, for a glorious purpose, here on this earth. You were given special gifts, abilities, and yes, life experiences...all for a purpose...all to show the glory of a mighty and amazing God, who loves you fiercely and preciously. Walk resolutely and courageously toward your calling, Sara. I promise you...nothing will fulfill you more, in this lifetime, than the work that God, Himself, has set you aside for. 3
Be humble enough to admit what you don t know, wise enough to seek the advice of those who do know, and strong enough to do what they suggest, regardless of how hard it may be. Seek God where you can t muster the strength for change on your own, which may be most of the time. It is for most of us. This may be the greatest key to growth (outside of knowing God) that you ll ever get. 4
Life hurts everyone. It really does. No matter where you go, or who you talk to, you ll find this to be true. We ve all been handed our share of lemons in life, but the difference between people who find happiness and people who don t is this Sad people choose to take the lemons they were given and chew on them until all that bitterness goes into their system and sours them. They make no effort to do anything differently. Happy people, on the other hand, take 5
those lemons, squeeze every bit of juice (or learning) out of them, then they add the clean, clear water of salvation through Jesus, and sweeten it with a sugar called purpose. They mix it all up, and pour it out for the refreshment of others. When I say others, I mean those who have lemons of their own but don t yet know about the lemonade or how good it can be. Bottom line: happiness is a choice between chewing on the lemons or making (and sharing) the lemonade. 6
Choose to like yourself. Choose to enjoy the person God created you to be, flaws and all. You don t need to be perfect...no one needs to be perfect. You just need to be you. Liking yourself is a choice, just as liking chocolate ice cream is a choice. If you take my advice on this...your life will be 100% happier than if you don t. 7
Most will say don t quit-don t ever quit. I see that a little bit differently. Sometimes it is wise to quit, but never, ever give up on a bad day. Always wait for a good day and then make your choice to quit or keep going. You ll have far fewer regrets this way. 8
You deserve every good thing that is out there great relationships, great job, nice clothes, nice car, nice house but no one will just hand it to you. You will have to work for those things. Not only will you have to work for them, but you ll need to make good decisions along the way...and sometimes those will be hard decisions. If you make good decisions, and you work hard, you will not only have the nice things, but you will also have a great sense of satisfaction for having earned them. 9
Love everyone! Help anyone but only hang with people who are doing something with their lives. The people you surround yourself with in life will dictate the direction of your life. Every relationship you have is an influence in your life. Keep the influences positive, and your life will stay positive. I m not saying hard times won t come...but they will come less often, and you ll navigate them more successfully, when you are surrounded with the right influences. 10
People will treat you the way you treat yourself. So...go ahead and buy the clothes, shoes, and jewelry you absolutely love (and that are within your budget) then wear it all proudly. Make a point to walk out the door every day feeling good about how you look. Don t tolerate disrespect, and don t degrade yourself by lowering yourself to someone else s level. The more respect you show yourself, the more respect you ll get from others. 11
Learn to love in a healthy way. Not everyone we love is going to be good for us. Learn to recognize this early and often. Let those go who are not good for you, and move on. You don t have to stop loving them, but you do need to let them live the life they want to in a way that doesn t bring yours down with them. The greatest thing you can ever do for anyone, is stay on course for the very best that life has to offer. The example you set, in this area, may be just the motivation they need to find their own. 12
I heard a great quote the other day about finding a mate. It goes like this: Don t marry a man unless you would be eager and proud to have a son or daughter JUST LIKE HIM. I have watched people live this. I have seen women who married broken men for example: alcoholics, rage-aholics, deadbeats, or men having internal chemical issues, etc. Not because they are of less value, but because the men were not prepared for the realities of marriage i.e...commitment, sacrifice, provision, etc...their lives were miserable after 13
six months to a year and continued to spiral downward from there. In the midst, they had children...at least one of which carried the same problems as the dad and now the women live in the misery created by the drama, stress and pain from both their husbands, and their children. Don t do it Sara. Don t marry a man unless you would be eager and proud to have a son or daughter just like him. 14
Believe it or not...many years ago I had what you might call a potty mouth. The funny thing was...i hated hearing bad words, and I was always very uncomfortable around people who used bad words as part of their regular conversation. Well sweetie, I had an epiphany one day...at least half of the cuss words I was hearing were coming out of my own mouth. The day I came to that realization is the day I stopped cussing. And, you know what...it made a huge difference in two ways. One I enjoyed hearing less from my own mouth, and that really 15
made an immediate difference, but there was another side effect. When I stopped using bad words, so did the people around me. When they realized that I operated with more self-respect, they operated more respectfully around me. The same will be true in all areas; the more respect you operate with for yourself and for others, the more you will receive. Even drama, for example...the less you create or choose to participate in, the less you will get caught in overall. P.S. Should I repeat the drama part? 16
Anything, anything, anything that tells you, in any way, shape, or form that you are not clean, good, or worthy is a lie. It is a lie straight from the pit of the devil. No matter what happens to you in life, if you ve accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then his sacrifice on the cross makes you good, clean and worthy. There is no mistake that can t be forgiven, no pit that God can t pull you out of, and no level of living that you re unworthy of. Anyone who tells you differently is mistaken. 17
No dream is beyond yours and God s reach. A-n-y-o-n-e...who says: no, no Sara, don t even try for that, or discourages you in anyway, is wrong, and their opinion should be gently, and respectfully, disregarded. God knows you, your heart, and your dreams. If the dream is truly from your heart, you are willing to work for it, and it honors Him, then He ll help you bring it to pass. I Love you. 18
There s nothing anyone can threaten you with that God can t take care of. Don t you ever let someone bully you into doing something you know isn t right. If you come across a situation like that, No matter what they threaten you with, say NO, and immediately tell someone. Remember something else Evil does not keep its promises.. When they say it will be better for you if you comply than if you don t...they ARE LYING! They ll do whatever they want, regardless of what they promised you. 19
Talk is cheap. It s easy to make promises, but tough to keep them. Work at being someone who does what she says she s going to do. You won t be perfect in this area no one is. But if you work at it, you ll hit the mark most of the time, and it will mean that you are dependable. Being dependable serves you well in life. 20
The best gifts in life are found in deep, loving relationships with people, and the memories you create with and/or for them. Money is good and serves a good purpose. We appreciate money, but at the end of your life, you won t think about money you ll think about memories, and you ll think about what differences you made in the lives of those you loved. Trust me on this. 21
Be trustworthy. Do not repeat other people s secrets. If someone thinks enough of you to share a secret with you, don t disappoint them by repeating what they say. You should conduct yourself better than that because you ARE better than that. Treat people as you would like to be treated, so if you want to be able to trust people, than be someone who can be trusted. 22
God has assigned a purpose to your life, and your main job, in His eyes, is to give yourself over to that purpose, whatever it may be. Seek Him diligently to discover that which He has purposed for your life, and how to accomplish it. I can promise you one thing. When you discover what your calling is, you will realize that it is something you can t do by yourself. That s normal. God doesn t put things before us that we can do without Him. 23
Your entire life has been designed in order for you to be successful at what He s called you to do, Sara. Go forth, find your purpose, and give yourself completely to it, for it is there that you ll find the great favor of God. 24
No matter how much more I write, there s no way that I could ever share everything you ll need to know in life. Life is trial and error for everyone. Failures come and go for everyone. Some failures will be big and some small...but each will provide you with an education on how to do better the next time. Never let a mistake or a failure define you...or stop you. Think of failures as a way of going to college without paying tuition. You ll have many success in life also. Never let those successes go to your head. 25
Successes don t define you, or your value, any more than your mistakes and failures do. We are all the same in God s sight, and our successes and/or failures make no difference to him. What matters to Him is how hard we try to do what He s purposed us to do, and how well we love and obey him on a daily basis. Now go conquer the world kiddo! I love you with all my heart sweet Sara Ann Elizabeth, Miss Margie 26
ABOUT THE AUTHOR I have been a happy resident of the great state of Tennessee since October of 2004. I love kids, and while I have none of my own, I try hard to be involved, on S a r a a n d m e an individual basis, where I think I can make a difference. Nothing is more important or more central to my life than my deep and abiding faith in Jesus Christ. It comes from my core. Jesus is my rock, my savior, my Lord, and my very, very best friend. No one loves me like He does. I also love animals, (dogs, horses and elephants especially) and hope to one day have my own, personal petting zoo. Well, maybe not a full petting zoo but close. You may read more of my material at: www.lifelifted.org www.thecarmiechronicles.com