Ready for this week’s Five Minute Friday adventure?

Five Minute Friday is, of course, and exercise where about 100 of us in the FMF community come together to independently write on a one-word prompt — this week HOLD — post it, link it at  fiveminutefriday.com then gather round to encourage and support our fellow Christian writers, each writing in their own unique style and genres.

I’ve also been including snippets from Five Minute Friday: A Collection of Stories Written in Five Minutes Flat compiled by Susan Shipe. They are a testament to the value of the exercise. This week, I’ll share some perspective from Cheryl, who I hope inspires you to check us out or, better yet, encourage you to try your hand at focused, unscripted writing for just five minutes. And share it on the website.

“FMF has been a source of encouragement for me. I have looked forward to Thursday nights and finding out the word for the day. [It’s released on the Five Minute Friday website and at a special #fmfparty Twitter party.] Once I have the word, I mull it over thinking about what I could possibly write. More often than not, the word has been a perspective changer giving me a chance to think bigger about life and my current circumstances. Not only have I been encouraged by the words of the many other FMF writers as they comment on my writing. FMF is not just about linking my posts but about being part of something much bigger.”

Well, it time to start the timer, so let’s GO …

If I was able to go back in time and write myself a letter as a teenager, I think the message would have been simple. Hold on! This is going to be one wild ride!

Looking back, I would tell my future self to expect ups and downs, triumphs and failures, success and loss, love and heartbreak. It’s all part and parcel of the path we take on this journey called life.

It wouldn’t necessarily have been written to scare me into making “right” choices, but rather to caution a younger me about the vagaries of life. Expect the unexpected, but, at the same time, embrace the unexpected. I would have told myself to find an Anchor. I would have told myself to be true to myself. I would have told myself to hold on to my principles.

That’s what experience has taught me. That would have been my message, There were some pits I fell into but not too many. The key was learning how to navigate through them, … STOP

… to learn from them.

Maybe that was the message I carried without the benefit of experience. While I readily admit I sometimes made, let’s say, less than wise decisions, none of them ignored the essence of who I was and who I’ve become. Faith was a key element. Family was an integral element. A calmness stemming from those two anchors was an integral element. A wllingness to learn and attempt things outside my comfort zone was an integral element.

Yes, as I look back, it would have been nice to hold onto a road map for the journey, but my early me doesn’t look a lot different than my present me.

THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: You are somebody’s reason to smile.