Image Credit: Pexels- Emma Bauso
A few days ago, I watched my oldest child walk across the stage and graduate from high school. I remember bringing him home from the hospital, swaddled in blue and full of newness. And now, just like that, I have an adult son preparing to step into his next chapter—college.
It hit me how quickly time moves. My grandmother used to say, “Time waits on nobody.” I didn’t fully understand it then, but now? Now, I feel the weight of that truth deep in my bones.
As I sat scrolling through old family photos, watching the progression of my son from newborn to this brilliant, kind, and confident young man, I couldn’t help but think of my younger self. I wish I could sit with her for a moment. Just the two of us, heart to heart. I’d look her in the eyes and say:
This photo is of Ranice Harper when she was a little girl.
Hey little me…
Look at you—pure joy, fearless and full of dreams. You have no idea how much power and promise you hold. If I could tell you anything, it would be this: Baby girl, you can do anything you put your mind to. Don’t let fear, pressure, or the weight of this world steal your light. That joy you carry? That peace? That fire? Guard it with everything in you. Life may try to dim it, but God is a restorer. And everything you thought you lost? He’s already working on giving it back to you—pressed down, shaken together, and running over.
I’m finding my way back to you—back to boldness, back to joy, back to that limitless faith. And I promise, we’re going to be amazing.
Now it’s your turn.
If you could sit with your younger self today, what would you say?
What parts of you have dimmed that need to be reignited?
Take a moment—journal it, pray on it, speak it out loud. God’s not done writing your story. Sis, the best of you is still in you. Let’s go get her.
This was written by our contributing writer, Ranice Harper.
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