Sweet girl,

I want to invite you to sit and chat with me. Grab a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, and your favorite blanket, and take a breath before you read this. Clear your mind, because I want you to think about you, just for a moment. Take some time for yourself, just for five minutes, I know you don't do this often. Sweet girl, who never stops going, who doesn't know who she is anymore, and who feels lost and left behind in this world, this letter is for you.

I don't know your story, but I don't need to. I know that you feel stuck right now. I know you have no idea of where you want to go, or what you want to do, and that's okay, even if it doesn't feel that way. I know you have been broken, maybe for a little while or maybe for a long time. Either way, you are now starting to pick up the broken pieces of yourself, and trying to put them back together.

I don't know what you were broken by, maybe it was an awful relationship with a friend, parent, significant other or even yourself. Maybe you are recovering from an addiction or a mental health crisis. Or maybe, the weight of society has finally fallen too hard on your shoulders, breaking the bones you've worked so hard to make strong. But sweet girl I want you to know that whatever has broken you, is no longer a match for you, because you are stronger than your brokenness, even if it doesn't seem like it right now. I want you to keep picking up your pieces, and gluing them back together one by one, even if you break a little again on the way.

Why? Because you deserve to be wholesomely you. You are allowed to be whoever you want to be, regardless of what others think-- which I know is hard to do. I know that the weight of the world's opinions settles deeply in your mind, and I know that it is hard to ignore everyone else's opinions, but this life is yours. You are you, and there is no one else like you on this earth. I want you to know, especially as you are rebuilding yourself, that what you have to offer is needed in this world. Please don't for a second believe otherwise.

As you rebuild yourself I want you to know that I am proud of you. I am proud of you for picking up your pieces and choosing to be yourself in this world, and God is proud of you too. I want you to know that when God looks at you He does not define you by your brokenness, He defines you by your heart. You are His child, and He loves you just as you are, broken pieces included. So, as you continue to rebuild yourself, this time I want you to rebuild an unapologetic you. A you that you love. And remember, you are loved, you have value and this world needs what you have to offer.