Dear Daughter,
It’s funny. I’ve written you several times since my son was born, and I’ll admit – when I started, it was a chore. I didn’t want to think about some pretty little girl coming along & ripping my most precious possession from my arms. (You’ll understand those feelings someday!)
But as I’ve started praying for you regularly, God has been shaping my heart to love you as a part of our family, even now, when your husband is just 3 years old.
Moments in our household where bodily functions are all too funny and tackles & hugs don’t look very different (which I wouldn’t change…well, maybe the bodily functions part!), I find myself thinking about you. How someday in those moments we will immediately look to the one other, shrug our shoulders and laugh.
I wonder about you – where you live; if you go to preschool; if you wear tutus & twirl, begging your mom to try on her lipgloss, or if you are constantly ripping bows out of your hair & not using your “inside voice.” I wonder if your hair is curly or straight and if your eyes are blue or brown. I wonder if you sing silly songs, take your shoes off as soon as you get in the car like your husband, or if you have any brothers and sisters.
None of those things really matter, but I just wish for a better picture of you in my head while I pray. But God knows all of those things, so I trust He takes my words to give you exactly what you need while you’re growing up.
But for knowing so little about you, there are a few things I know that I pray for you regularly.
I pray you’re being raised by a mom & dad who love Jesus fiercely.
Not just casually. Their faith isn’t defined by a place they go, but by how they live. Everything they do – from their jobs to how they raise you – flows from their love for Christ. They pray for you & with you. They teach you His Word & strive daily to learn something new from it. They make tough choices, not doing what is the most popular opinion, but by doing what is right.
I pray you’re being raised by a mom & dad who love each other unconditionally.
I pray you see the way your mom looks at your dad & dream of the day you’ll look at my son that way. I pray you watch your dad lead & love your mom so well that before you go to kindergarten, you’ve asked him to marry you at least 100 times. I hope they go on dates. I even hope their PDA grosses you out from time to time. I pray that they talk to God together in front of you and that when tough times come, they’re never a better team.
I pray God will protect you from harm.
In today’s world, it seems like little girls are losing their innocence all too young. I pray God will protect you from people who who try to harm you – physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. I pray He fills your life with people who remind you of how beautiful you are and help you discover His purpose for your life. When you’re sad or scared, I pray you have many laps to sit on & many arms for comfort. And to any of those boys who date you before my son…I pray they treat you the way they would want someone else treating their future wife.
As I’m writing this, I’m waiting in the parking lot to pick up your husband from preschool. He’s on the playground, pretending he’s fighting a dragon on a fort that’s shaped like a boat. So in closing, my sweet, sweet soon-to-be daughter (Let’s just forget that in-law stuff), I’m praying that someday, Noah will fight for your heart with the same vigor that he’s slaying imaginary dragons right now.
Love you with my whole heart!
Michelle
