Dear Younger Me

Dear Younger Me,

Sherrie. You’ll bring forth life. Yes you. You’ll heal and realize that you've been redeemed. You’ll raise a girl whose life will continually remind you of that fact. The fact that you’ve been redeemed. She’ll be amazingly smart. She’ll remind you of the faith you should hold on to.

She’ll be gentle. And you will do a great job of shielding her from the generational cycles that made you feel like parts of you were bad when in fact the entire time Jesus had made us all new.

She’ll approach each new day with a new vitality for life because you didn’t quit. You don’t quit.

You’ll teach her that she’s more precious than rubies. She’ll cause you to remember to be the salt of the Earth.

Together you’ll grow.

Dear Younger Me,

You’ll bring forth life.

You’re redeemed.

Sherrie Wilkins

Sherrie is a 43-year-old stay-at-home mom serves in her calling. After nearly 16 years as a public school educator, she still believes that when parents are the most important influence in the lives of their children.

Her background in the arts gives her a gift for painting pictures with words. Inspired by writers like Langston Hughes, Frederick Douglass, Nikki Giovanni, Sojourner Truth, Son of Black, and Nefesha Ruth, Sherrie writes in a way that invites readers to pause and see life beyond their daily routines.

She believes poetry can soften hearts and open minds, so she uses her art to advocate for herself and for others, especially those navigating mental health challenges and young people healing from trauma.

For Sherrie, family is legacy. She loves serving alongside her husband, Alan Wilkins, a musician and music teacher in Trenton, and she considers mothering their three children the greatest joy of her days.