David Zinyama is a Graphic Designer (he is known for photoshopping himself into celebrity photos) & Photographer & Writer and we found these beautiful letters he wrote to his future son, daughter and wife a few days ago.
Enjoy…
To
My Daughter:
Hello Beautiful,
I am writing to you because I love you. I don’t know your name yet. I
don’t know the depth of your beauty or the brightness of your smile. I
don’t know the purity of your heart or the beauty of your soul. I don’t
know if you will act more like me or your mother. I don’t even know who
your mother is! But, in the midst of everything I don’t know about you,
there are a few things that I want you to know because I already love
you.
I want you to know that you are powerful. Regardless of anything you
hear, you are powerful. You are just as powerful as any other man or
woman. You are equal. It doesn’t matter what you think you can never
accomplish. It doesn’t matter how impossible you think your dreams are.
It doesn’t matter anything that is spoken over you. It doesn’t matter
how discouraged you get by watching and listening to the people around
you, you are powerful. You can do anything you put your mind to.
I want you to know that you are already perfect. You don’t need to
change for me to love you. You don’t need to change to try to be more
like your mother. You don’t need to change to be like any of the women
you see in the world. You don’t need to change so that any boy will like
you. You be the person you are and keep close the people in your life
who love you for that. You were created in a special way for a specific
purpose that creates the unique beauty that you have. Don’t waste the
beauty you have trying to be someone else because you are already
perfect the way you are.
I want you to know that you are beautiful. You set the standard for
beauty, not anybody else. It doesn’t matter who you see at school, it
doesn’t matter who you see on T.V. or in a magazine, and it doesn’t
matter what some boy dressed as a man says about you. You set the
standard for beauty. God makes all things beautiful and God made you, so
you are beautiful. You were made beautiful. Beauty is not something
that you should ever aspire to because it is something you have already
accomplished. As your daddy I just want you to know that you are
powerful, perfect, loved and beautiful.
To
My Son:
Son!
I am writing to you because I love you! I don’t know your name yet. I
don’t know if you will play sports, fall in love with music, be an
artist or do something else that will completely blow my mind.
Regardless of the passions you do or don’t have, there are a few things
that I want you to know.
I want you to know that you are already a man. You don’t need to fit
into some specific mold in order for me or anyone else to accept you as a
man. Whether you like to hunt or write children’s stories, you are
already a man. Whether you enjoy playing football or photography, you
are already a man. You don’t need to fit the mold that anyone in this
world creates for you. You were designed the way you are to accomplish
the plan you have been given. Don’t try and be someone else.
I want you to know that you are a warrior. The Bible tells us that we
were made in the image of God. Scripture also tells us that the Lord is
a warrior. You are a warrior. You are dangerous. You are have the heart
of a lion. As you know, no one needs to protect the lion, they just
need to let it out of the cage.
I want you to know that it is okay to open your heart. Even the greatest
warriors have to take off their armor every once in a while. I want you
to know it is okay to be soft. It is okay to open your heart and it is
okay to cry. It is okay to let people know how you feel. Your manhood
isn’t determined by your ability to hide your feelings, it is determined
by your strength to share your heart.
I want you to know that the beauty of a woman’s heart is more important
than her body. I know physical beauty can be distracting, but when you
interact with women you focus on the beauty in their eyes and the depth
of their heart. Who you choose as your queen will be one of the most
significant decisions of your life, be patient. Discover the beauty of
her heart. If you fall in love with her heart instead of what she looks
like, in 60 years you will still be in love.
As your dad I want you to know that you are already a man and as a man
it is okay to open your heart. You are a warrior who is going to change
the world, use wisdom when determining who stands by your side!
To My Wife:
How’s
it lookin, good-lookin?
I don’t know who you are yet. I don’t know what you look like. I don’t
know the color of your eyes. I don’t know the color of your skin. I
don’t know your name. There are a lot of things that I don’t know about
you, but there are a couple of things that I want you to know.
You’re Already Beautiful. Congratulations, babe, you did it. You are
already beautiful. Seriously. If beauty is a game, you’re a pro. You
are perfect already. You were beautifully and wonderfully made. You
have nothing to fix. God did not mess-up on you. I know what society is
telling you. ”You have to look like this, wear this, and have this in
order to be beautiful.” Nope. You’re already beautiful. Beauty is more
than what you put on in the morning. You don’t need to lose weight to be
beautiful. You don’t need to pack on the make-up to be beautiful. You
don’t need to have all the curves installed to be beautiful. You don’t
need to have perfect skin to be beautiful. You don’t need to act a
certain way to be beautiful. You don’t need to wear certain clothes to
be beautiful and you definitely don’t need to take them off to be
beautiful. You’re already beautiful. Feel free to grow to be a better,
healthier, more confident you. In fact, I encourage it. But let me
remind you that when it comes to being beautiful, you already won. You
are beautifully and wonderfully made.
Babe, keep your goodies in your basket. I get it. I really do. When you
have a nice car you want to show it off. If you have a nice body,
likewise, you want to show it off. But, what makes a Lamborghini stand
out from a Honda Civic? I see Civics all the time. Everywhere I go there
is one of those bad boys sitting in the parking lot. I can count on one
hand every Lamborghini I’ve ever seen. It is always exciting to see
one of those. The Honda, not so much. Don’t get me wrong, your goodies
are always going to be good. I’ll say that again, your goodies are
always going to be good. But, if everyone and my mum has a look at
everything you’re showing off, I’m not feeling like as much of a lucky
guy. So please, for me, keep your goodies packaged away.
You’re
a princess worth fighting for. I said “princess.” You know, the
princess you always wanted to be as a little girl? Yep, that’s you! But
here is the deal, if you are a princess, you have to act like a
princess. The story goes something like, “The princess waits high up in
her castle waiting to be rescued by her Prince Charming (thats me). This
‘prince’ has to cross the treacherous lands, fight all the battles,
storm the castle, slay the dragon and THEN he gets the princess.” It’s a
pretty cool story, really. Prince Charming doesn’t just walk up to the
castle doors, spit a little game, and off they go to happy ever after.
You’re a PRINCESS. You’re worthy of a fight. If you give yourself to
someone who isn’t willing to fight for you, he isn’t worthy to be with
you. Your prince charming isn’t going to fight to take your purity, he
is going to fight to protect it.
Don’t settle for me, make me go to work. Don’t let me sweep you off your
feet without putting in any work. Remember, I have to “cross
treacherous lands, fight all the battles, storm the castle, slay the
dragon and THEN,” I get the princess. Make me go to work. Don’t let me
have you easy. You deserve a gentlemen. You deserve chivalry. Do not
settle. There are going to be a lot of guys who come through who might
look like me, they might be dressed like me, and they might talk like
me, but if they don’t put in the work like me, they don’t deserve you
like me. I am out here waiting for you, don’t settle for someone who
doesn’t deserve you. Don’t settle.
Our fairy tale will happen, but remember it doesn’t go from ‘once upon a
time’ to ‘happy ever after.’ There is a battle that goes on in those
middle chapters. Sometimes I am going to mess up. Sometimes you are
going to mess up. I am going to say things I don’t mean and mean things I
don’t say. Sometimes I will forget that you are a princess and
sometimes I will get distracted. But, together, through love, patience,
communication, and the grace of God, we are going to win. Let us grow
together. It is not too late. You are beautifully and wonderfully made
by the hands of a perfect Creator, live like it!
Prince Charming