Dear Future Self...

For the past five years, I've had the tradition of writing a letter to my future self (5 years in the future). That said, this year was then the first year I got to read what I wrote to my 'future self.'
Think back five years...
"Dear future self...I hope you, when you read this, have risked everything to love someone else. To give it all away. I hope you are married or close to it. I want kids, family, roots--somewhere I can call home and bring others into to rest and be refreshed.
Today my deaf boy fell asleep with my arm around him. he learned up against me looking for something--and he found it. I want to be that kind of person. Brazil or the USA? I hope you have this a little more settled--but always with the door open. I hope you are open to life, that you are giving yourself. I hope you are taking care of mom and dad.
I hope you are living simply and can fit all your possessions in 5 trunks. I hope you can say "if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now." I hope you can see real fruit of the past 5 years and are not in a self-consuming relationship, but one that is free and giving. May you have a community around you where you realize you are not alone in creating a world you want to live in, a world that makes God smile. Keep going--you aren't old yet!"