Three.
Three giggly, snuggly, little daughters who love all things girly. Each is different, exhibiting her own unique characteristics from birth. All have engraved their precious selves into my mama heart for eternity. Each was flawlessly crafted by our Father's hands for me (and their daddy) to love for all my days. To love them when they do not love themselves. To see their beauty when they only see imperfections. To pray for them, relentlessly, that they know their value in Him. That they know His plans for them are good. That they know they are His.
I sometimes question my purpose in this current phase of life. Did I really follow the Lord's guidance? Maybe I took a detour along the way, taking the scenic route before realigning myself with His path. However I arrived here, I wonder if I am allowing Him to use me -- selflessly and wholly used for His glory. His clear and unmistakable answer comes every Wednesday night.
A few years back, I began volunteering with the youth at our church. As a small group leader to junior high girls, I see loneliness, confusion, deception, and heartache. I hear stories of broken families, imprisoned parents, and emotional neglect. Young girls, just barely teenagers, are tackling issues too complex for their understanding. Sexual impurity, substance abuse, depression -- it is all there.
Whatever reasoning urged me to begin volunteering a few years ago has changed. I no longer serve just to be fulfilled, though my heart has never been fuller. I no longer serve just to congregate with fellow sisters in Christ, though I am building invaluable relationships. I serve because I see girls with incomprehensible value, angelic beauty, and limitless opportunities. I see daughters of the King lost in the muck of this world. I see daughters who believe their critics, before considering the truth of our Father. I cannot help seeing my daughters.
My daughters have changed me. They are a reflection of my own childhood and offer me a glimpse of the Lord's promises in my future. They grant me overflowing grace in this journey, though I stumble every day. I never fathomed feeling as much love in this lifetime as my heart carries for them. They are persistent reminders of my Father's favor. They embody flawlessness and innocence, and I pray these things remain, even after society sinks in its grips on them.
Too many people and things will try convincing my daughters they are unworthy or unwanted. Surface beauty somehow outweighs the truth in a person's heart. My girls are outwardly beautiful and talented, and we have confidence in their future successes in life. Above all, though, they are His. Before I dreamt of them and felt their first fluttering kicks, they belonged to our Father. Before their daddy wrapped them in swaddles and tucked them into his heart, they belonged to our Father. My daughters are His daughters, and I ache for them to know this truth.
It is my responsibility (correction: ours, as parents) to deliver such truth to my daughters. If they cannot love themselves, no future husband will ever make a difference. If they cannot find comfort in the Lord's embrace, no future bad habit will ever alleviate the heartache. If they listen to the lies of what mainstream considers beautiful and popular, their bodies will be unrecognizable and their spirits will become sickly. We are failing the children of today, sadly convincing them that their legacy on earth is more valuable than their destiny in heaven. They know no better; they are only watching the example set by the rest of us.
"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."
Psalm 139:14 (NIV)
