June 9, 2011
Dear Emily,
The invasion of the thirteen-year cicadas is nearly over. Cicadas are insects that have lain dormant in the ground for thirteen years and then suddenly, Mother Nature sounds the alarm, and they emerge from their long sleep. Still wrapped in their protective shells, the cicadas attach themselves to trees and buildings where they gradually wiggle free from their protective covering, leave it behind so that they can lay their eggs before they die and begin the process all over again. This process is part of God’s plan for the cicadas. And while they are busy laying eggs and flying from tree to tree, they "sing." They sing in harmony with a distinct rhythm that rises and falls with a cadence. They sing loudly and seemingly, joyfully. Some people don’t like the “noise” of the singing, but I love it. Now their short visit is nearly done, and we will have to wait thirteen more years for the cicadas to return.
The invasion of the thirteen-year cicadas is nearly over. Cicadas are insects that have lain dormant in the ground for thirteen years and then suddenly, Mother Nature sounds the alarm, and they emerge from their long sleep. Still wrapped in their protective shells, the cicadas attach themselves to trees and buildings where they gradually wiggle free from their protective covering, leave it behind so that they can lay their eggs before they die and begin the process all over again. This process is part of God’s plan for the cicadas. And while they are busy laying eggs and flying from tree to tree, they "sing." They sing in harmony with a distinct rhythm that rises and falls with a cadence. They sing loudly and seemingly, joyfully. Some people don’t like the “noise” of the singing, but I love it. Now their short visit is nearly done, and we will have to wait thirteen more years for the cicadas to return.
Many things can happen in thirteen years. Thirteen years ago your daddy graduated from high school. Thirteen years before that, he was starting kindergarten! And thirteen years from now, you will be----- well, you will be THIRTEEN!! You will be a teen-ager! Wow! And you will have experienced so many “firsts.” Your first steps, your first word, the first day of school…possibly your first kiss, first love, first heartbreak. You will be standing on the brink of womanhood. By the time you are thirteen, you will have glimpsed the woman you will become. Your personality will have begun to assert itself, and you will have realized some of the activities that you like to do, and others that you don’t. You will have chosen friends and rejected others. In other words Emily, you will be becoming YOU!! God has a plan for your life, but you are the architect. You get to choose the life you want to build. Seek God’s plan and choose wisely and He will bless the life you build.
Yes Emily, in the next thirteen years, you will slowly wiggle out of the protective shell of your parents’ guidance, and you will spread your wings. Fly Emily! Fly high and fly strong! And most of all…..don’t forget to sing!!!
I love you!
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