Today and Tomorrow - the 4th letter in the collection of Letters to My Daughter.

Dear Daughter,

yesterday’s strength is not for today
let today create its own
for there are new mountains to climb
there are new roads to walk on

yesterday’s rainbow is not for today
let today find its own pot of gold
for there are new skies to see
there are new stories to be told

if there is anything from yesterday you want to bring
bring love 
for it will always be more than enough

for today and for tomorrow!

K2 - the second highest peak in the world.

So these three things continue forever: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love. 

1 Corinthians 13:13 (NCV)

[All images taken from google images.]

"La Vita è Bella" - the third letter in the collection of letters to my Daughter.

Dear Daughter,

La Vita e Bella - Life is Beautiful! 

You will need to remind yourself this when you walk in the midst of the ugliness of life. It will be easier if you know that whatever God has created is beautiful - it is us who fail to take care of our entrusted treasures. 

There are breathtaking places in the world. Their scenic view captivates marvel and wonder. In some lands, however, you will not have to walk much further away from their magnificent landscapes to see deep brokenness freely roaming on the very streets where beauty lives - shattered hopes, hungry stomachs and shoeless feet all glistening like coals on the crown of gold.

Life may even show you places of justices that are building scales of bribe, greed and cruelty. And palaces of kindness being adorned with fall trees - beautiful in colour, but carrying death inside. And while I hope that world will be at peace in your time, just like my ancestors had hoped for my generation, don't say life is not beautiful when you see countries fight, blood covered cities and giants of poverty; and when you see people standing for what is right, alone. Do not be surprised when their progress seems like a drop in the ocean and when there are more who oppose them than those cheering them on.

Even then life is beautiful, my sweet-heart! Because beauty is like the sun. When what is not good comes like a cloud-covered-night, it does not mean that sun will not shine again. It surely will. 

There is a power that God has given his children and it works much like how resuscitation works. A doctor comes, knowing well that the heart lying before is no longer beating, gets down with all his or her strength and begins to push hard to get that very dying heart to pump blood again and give oxygen to the entire body. So be that doctor! Don't let the despair of the dying heart steal your purpose of what you are meant to do and what you can do. And don't stop once you start. Don't look to the left or the right. Don't focus on who is with you and who is not. Just focus on doing your best to revive that heart. And in this lies the very act of beauty.

Life is beautiful! Ask God to show you his beauty that dwells here on earth and He surely will. Your job will be to find out what you need to do to preserve it or in many case to be obedient in being His instrument of resurrection of what lies beneath the debris.

You will see many hands building their cottages on the lots that please their eyes. They are gazers of beauty which is already chiseled out and placed on the show for them. But you my daughter look for beauty in the hidden and in the open, in the seemingly ugly and in the obviously beautiful - wherever God has placed it. 

And should you hear a call - a call to seek this beauty in the most unlikely places - jump right at it!

"From Zion, perfect in beauty,
    God shines forth." 

Psalm 50:2 (NIV).

~All images taken from google images~

Hope - the second letter in the collection of letters to my daughter.

Dear Daughter,

Hope. It's only a four letter word. But it has the power to fuel the survival of humanity. To journey well here on earth you must learn to ride on it. Hope is the call that summons you forward in a dark tunnel. And all humans go through a dark tunnel at sometime in their lives. And when you embrace it's brightness you will shine like a bright star in a dark night.

When situations come before you and they appear to suggest that all will not be well or that your dreams may not come true. You speak back to them with courage, strength and confidence. There are many things that can give you this confidence. If you have friends and family standing with you in the midst of your trials they can comfort you and build your confidence in realizing that all will be okay in the end. Diverting your focus on areas in your life that are going well can also help you to not feel the heaviness of trying times. 

Good problem solving and objective thinking can also help you win over many mountains. Difficulties and hurt in life are a sure thing and the world has created many ways of coping with hope-stealing circumstances. We have created distractions to disconnect us from dealing with the real pain. Watching television, eating comfort food, shopping, gossiping, procrastinating and the long list goes on of all some of the things we can do to pretend that nothing has really gone wrong. Not all ways are a complete waste. There are some healthy ways of coping and thriving as well like exercising, eating well, getting good rest, helping others, learning to laugh more and so on.  But the heart of the matter is that they are all dealing with the symptoms, the feelings. They are not the cure.

The real issue is that we are created to live in peace and not in turmoil. Our bodies, minds and souls can only handle temporary crises. Anything that persists longer begins to erode one or all of them. Trying times are usually ones that reveal to us how much we are not in control of things that happen to us. While some don't believe in God, I have chosen to believe. I believe that I was created with purpose and there is someone watching over me whose wisdom and power is greater and beyond my understanding. In fact in my trying times my trust in Him has made me live in peace. More specifically a verse that I have time and time again hung my life on is Romans 8:28 "And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans" (TLB). And this my daughter what gives me hope. I pray that this will be your hope too.

I also pray that nothing will be able to steal your hope in all the days that you live on this earth. And that you will not keep this secret to yourself but will shine it brightly, like the stars do.

Hope shines bright in the darkest of nights.

                                There is always a door of hope.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit". 

Romans 15:13 (NIV).

~All images taken from Google Images~

First Letter - Collection of Letters to my daughter

Dear Daughter,

Your middle name is joy. And I pray that all the days of your life are filled with joy. But don't confuse joy with happy feelings - which are only a part of the real deal, because joy is much bigger than that. While I do pray that God will give you all the desires of your heart which prosper you, but I want you to know that this alone is not enough to give you joy. It may seem like getting what you want is the secret of having joy, but it is not. 

To find joy you will need to look inward, even when though it seems more natural to look outward.  And I can tell you this that it will not be found in the bubbles of glee floating around you but rather in the rock of faith inside of you. And if you find it, you will see for yourself that it will not burst with trying times, nor will it stop smiling in tears. It runs deep and it is life-giving. This joy is a coat of many colours. Cheerfulness, smiles, laughter, satisfaction, excitement, delight, pleasure, and many other positive feelings are amongst some of its most pleasing-to-the-eye colours. There are, however, other colours as well which do not glitter as brightly - they more subtle and peaceful in shades. Amongst these not so visible colours are colours of peace, security, hope, courage, strength, trust that all will work out for good and faith that you are deeply loved. There are as many ways to wear this robe as there are its colours, each emphasizing a different tone. The secret, my darling, is in knowing that what weaves this coat of many colours together is the glistening thread of gratefulness.

Yes. If you want joy you will have to teach your heart gratefulness. And when you learn to be grateful  it will be as if you have learned to soar on winds.

May your days be filled with Joy.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit". 

Romans 15:13 (NIV).

~images taken from Google Images unless specified~

Intro to the collection of 'Letters to my daughter'

Life brings with it lessons - some are beautifully joy-giving, while others have been priced with pain. If there is anything a mother's heart wants it is to pass on the lessons she has learned, rather she has earned with age and experience, to her daughter. Whether you write them down or whether you make her hear them in your constant nagging or teach them with patience in the creative moments of learning, the intentions behind them is always a mother's heart which is forever seeking to protect and always praying for no harm to ever come near her most treasured pearl.

So here begins my penning down of all that my heart wants hers to know one day.

~All images taken from Google Images~