a letter to my goddaughter

Dear Emersyn,

The older I get, the more I realize how important it is to have mentorship in our lives. Ideally, we all find and cherish those people who have wisdom to impart in each area: career, relationships, faith—you name it. We hope to surround ourselves with people who know better than we do, so we can do better than we’re currently doing.

This isn’t as easy to find, at times, as it is to express its necessity. We may not realize we’re lacking guidance until we fail at something we thought we could do on our own. We may not see the need for another person’s perspective until we learn (the hard way) that we don’t always know what we’re doing, or what to do.

Since the day your mom asked me to be your godmother, I decided to always commit all of my best efforts to being the mentor you don’t yet know you need.

To me, being a godparent is a spiritual relationship more than anything else. It absolutely has weighty, cardinal implications and responsibilities to accomplish—but for me, its foremost honor is to point you to Jesus.

You could listen to many different voices in your life. They will come from your home, your phone, and those who surround you by choice or circumstance. My intent is not to make you listen to mine (or even your mother’s!)—but my goal is to help teach you how to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit, so that you may always know which way to go.

Whenever you read this, I hope we’ve already crossed several national parks and countries off our bucket list together. I hope we live close enough for me to steal you away after school for a mid-week adventure. I even hope I have little ones of my own for you to call a friend. But above all, I pray you’ve experienced the joy of the Lord, and it becomes your chief pursuit more passionately each year that passes.

No matter how far apart we may find ourselves physically, there will always be room in my home and my heart for all of Emy J. Your Father in heaven has chosen the best two people possible to be your parents, and I’m so thankful they all chose me to be your godmother.

For now, Happy First Birthday. I love you more than you know!

-Auntie Mick