Dear Future Little,

I will not be everything you need.

I will be your shoulder to cry on, your Polaroid picture memories. I will be your mentor and your advice-seeker alike. I will be your chauffeur, home-away-from-home, secret keeper, shared interest enthusiast, and best friend.

I will answer your phone calls and offer you help and bring you soup on cold days. I will go out for pancakes at midnight just because you're feeling low; I will celebrate with you the rest of the time. I will encourage you to be your best, and I know you'll do the same for me. I will tell you the truth because you need to hear it, and I will say it with all the compassion my heart contains.

But I will not be your everything.

Dearest Little, you have a future to determine and a lady to become. You have joys and struggles and all the inner workings that life has to offer. And I promise to walk alongside you.

But I cannot carry you through the finish line. I cannot make you value yourself (try as I might). I cannot erase the painful memories and mindsets you've brought into college with you. I don't have the perfect words, perfect love, or perfect anything, and I cannot heal you or make you whole.

I want to be important to you.

But I cannot be the one you turn to when you need to know who you are.

That takes soul searching. And a whole lot of Jesus.

Little, when you come running home to me, I hope the first thing we do is pray together. You need to know that as deep as my love is for you, the Savior's is greater still. Little, when you feel unworthy of affection, I hope you call me- but foremost, I hope you remember who God says you are.

Little, here's the secret: I'm going to try to be your everything. But that's not my job, it's His. I promise I will do my very best for you, but I promise He will be the very best for you.

I can't wait to meet you and be a beacon of love.

Prayerfully yours,

Your Future Big