Dear Matthew,
Happy Birthday! You are thirteen years
old today – an official teenager. If you stop and think about it, you only have
five more years before you are old enough to go on a mission, start college or
leave home. Five years is not very long to get yourself ready for that day. Not
many people your age are wise enough to make the most of their teenage years.
These years are your preparation time for adulthood. The decisions you make
will start you on a course that will lead you to a life of selfishness or a
life of joy. This is the time to develop your talents, intellect and desire to
serve. If you keep learning, work hard and never give up, you will become a
remarkable young man. If you choose to be lazy and selfish, you will have regrets.
Just a few days ago I watched you
perform a piano solo in front of your school. I was so proud of you because you
did something hard. Hours and hours of regular practice and persistence made it
possible for you to perform well. I think learning to play the piano is a lot
like learning to live your life well. With the piano you start out as a
beginner not knowing anything. Then you are taught one musical concept at a
time. After you learn how to read music, you begin playing simple one finger
songs. If you keep learning, practicing, and listening to your piano teacher you
will make slow gradual progress over time.
We all make lots of mistakes while we
learn. Mistakes are part of the process of improving. If you don’t get discouraged
and keep trying you have the opportunity to keep getting better. One day you
may become a piano teacher and help others learn as you have learned. Helping
others learn is what we do when we grow up or gain maturity. It is difficult to
help others if we have not done the hard work of learning and reaching a
certain level of mastery.
Going through these next few years as a
teenager will be a lot like learning to play the piano. You can choose right
now how you want to make slow gradual progress over time. You do that by
choosing what kind of person you want to become. Do you want to be friendly,
happy, hard-working and service oriented? Or do you want to be closed-off, grumpy,
lazy and selfish? You simply choose who
you want to be and then start practicing.
The most important qualities we learn
first come from our interaction with our family. So the best way to practice becoming
who you want to be is by practicing the qualities you want to develop on your
parents and brothers. For example you learn how to be a hard worker by helping
your parents at home and in the yard. You learn how to be a hard worker at
school by regular attendance and careful study. You learn how to be friendly or
how to serve by practicing on your parents and brothers, the boys in your church
group and at school. If you want to be a happy person, practice getting rid of
all your negative thoughts and replace them with grateful thoughts. If you want
to become a loving person, practice forgiving someone . . . especially those
closest to you in your home and community.
In the same way you had regular piano
lessons each week where you reported to your music teacher, take the time on a
regular basis to pray to God with a sincere desire to listen and learn. God
wants you to know how to improve, but you must want to listen before you can
hear Him. Your Father-in-Heaven is the best Matthew-Becoming-Awesome teacher in
the universe. Remember to schedule regular lessons with Him.
I have loved watching you grow up for
the past thirteen years Matthew. I so enjoy seeing your smiling face come
through my front door. I love your passion for life your and joy for living.
You have an amazing mind and spirit and God will expect great things from you.
I will always be your biggest fan.
Love,
Grandma Baadsgaard
No comments:
Post a Comment