to an extraordinary girl.

Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let the pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still have to believe this is a beautiful place...

underneath all the garbage, there is a treasure waiting to be found. There is always more than meets the eye. You just have to look a little longer, harder. And, if you are willing to wait - people will surprise you. The world will surprise you. There are always mountains to be climbed. But you have to hold on. You have to believe. Believe in second chances. Believe in brand new days. Believe in adventure, and chance, and fate. Believe that love exists. More than that, that one day, love will come and find you - find you and never leave. Do not give up hope. When the game of love has dealt you a losing hand... keep playing. Your broken heart will eventually mend. Shed tears. Get angry. Scream. Do what you have to do. But, at the end of the day, remember to smile. Forgive and forget. You are stronger than everyone who tries to bring you down - who hurts you. who lies to you. who makes promises that are never kept. who makes you feel insignificant. Don't let them push you down. Keep shining vibrantly. Allow yourself to start over. Give yourself new beginnings. Take a day just for you. Do something out of the ordinary. Take a risk. Remember to laugh. Go crazy. Dance in the rain. Open your eyes and see all the beauty the world has to offer. More than that, open your heart to whatever comes your way, whoever comes your way.


It doesn't have to be you against the world. When you feel like you can't make it, when you want to stop trying, when you want to stop caring - Remember that God is bigger than anything that comes your way. He can heal your pain. He can take away your heartache. He can wipe away your tears. When you are weak, He is strong. Let Him fill you with joy again. Let Him show beauty. Let Him give you hope. Let Him give you love. Hear Him when He says: "You are beautiful. You are irreplaceable. Nothing you can do will ever make me stop loving you. Have faith, my child. Everything I promise to give you - I will never take away. I will always be here. To hold you. To listen. To speak words of encouragement. To walk by your side - wherever you go, through anything you encounter, in the face of all those who come against you. Pray, and I will answer. Believe, and I will invite you in. Live for me, and I will shower you with more than you could ever imagine. You are not alone. I am here. I have always been here."

Live and let go... or live and let God (be your everything).

maybe, in the future...

... you're going to come back.

Sometimes, God brings you sunshine. He brings you beauty to fill you with joy. to make you smile. to fill your life with a blessing that you will remember long into the future. Sometimes, God brings you sunshine... and then that sunshine fades. It is not because God loves you any less. It is not because He is a mean God, a hurtful God. It is simply because God has something greater planned for your life. A sunrise to come that will surpass anything you have ever seen.

Sometimes, it doesn't make sense. God takes away things in your life that make you happy, that make your days brighter, that make you smile, that make you feel whole. He takes away your sunshine, and you don't why. It doesn't make sense. And it hurts. And sometimes, its unexplainable... sometimes, no matter how much you trust God, you still can't see why. But, if it wasn't meant to be, you have to trust that God has someone better for you. And, He knows your heart. He is holding it in His hands. He's not going to throw it away, He's not going to let it break. You have to trust Him. You have to have faith. You have to love God first. You have to put Him first. Seek Him, and someday... He will place someone in your life who won't leave. Someone who will love you and never let go.

See the lost loves and lost chances as gifts. God has a reason for everything. It's only a matter of letting Him show you what that reason is. See the beauty. See the happiness. See the memories. Reflect upon and smile - for what they taught you. For how they helped you grow up. For showing you new things. Nothing is ever lost, it's simply a road bump on the journey to a destination that only God knows. And He will show you - in time, with patience, with trust.

This is one of those moments. One of those moments when you're standing in the rain. Soaked to the bone. Not caring if you get sick. Not trying to move. You're standing in the rain and you're numb. All you can do is stand there and pray that someone comes to save you, to bring you inside, to warm you up again. This is one of those moments. You're standing in the rain and you can't see. You close your eyes. You don't know where to go, and you really don't care to try. And then, something wonderful happens. You feel the rain lessen upon your skin. You feel a ray of warmth. You open your eyes. And, that's when you see it... a beautiful rainbow. And then you know. This is one of those moments. God is saying, 'Have hope. I promise it will be okay.'

it's not enough to say we're okay.

Vulnerability is a threatening concept. To be open and real, willing to expose your deepest struggles, your deepest scars, your deepest desires. Floating along the surface is safer. To conform to who people think you are, or who they want you to be. To converse without touching the hidden parts of who you are. To form relationships based on superficial characteristics. No one wants to be vulnerable. To be vulnerable risks hurt. Risks rejection. Risks judgement. Risks the formation of more scars. Risks irreparable damage. It would be easier to let go and forget. It would be easier to pretend everything is okay. It would be easy to stop letting people in. It would be easier to stop feeling anything for anyone... easier to stop trusting and simply, being. Who needs depth? Someone always gets hurt. People always leave. People always let you down.

But it is not enough to say that you're okay. It's not enough to pretend your life is great. It is not enough to go around with a smile and never expose all the things deep within yourself. You're not only cheating others out of discovering who you really are - you're cheating yourself out of a chance to discover yourself. Interaction with others not only teaches you things about other people but teaches you things about yourself. You have to speak in order to be heard. You have to speak in order to find out how strong your voice really is. It is okay to share the good. But, it is essential to share the bad. To expose your emotions instead of keeping them bottled up inside. It is necessary to say out loud that you have been hurt. That you have been used. That you have been rejected. That is how healing happens... exposing the dark parts of yourself to the world and letting light in. Knowing you are not alone. You are never alone. Some may let you down. Some may make promises they can't keep. Some may take your heart and then break it. But, some... love you. Want to love you. Want to know you. Want to hear everything about you and be there to catch your fall.

Allow yourself to be vulnerable. It's true - people are going to disappoint you. That's fine. You're going to disappoint people. There is no way you can please everyone. There is no way that people can cater to what you want. We are all human. We are going to mess-up. It's about discerning which relationships are worth taking the risk. To trust. To share. To heal. Invest your heart and your time in the people who mean something to you... even if they don't always respond... fight for the relationships you need. The ones who encourage you. The ones who make you laugh. The ones who would do anything for you. The ones who you trust enough to be vulnerable. Because, vulnerability is scary, but it is necessary. You can't love without honesty. You can't bond without touching the deepest parts.

Don't just say you're 'okay'. Let someone in.