How can it be time for those training bras. It doesn’t even seem possible to say the word b-r-a. My husband closes his eyes next to me in bed in disbelief. “Wasn’t she just a baby?”
We lay silent. There are no words.
No one prepares you for this kind of stuff. Sure, they tell you to cherish each moment, and time flies by, but they don’t prepare you for these moments.
As she was trying on new shirts (I had to search the stores for longers shirts to cover jegging bums), I noticed she might be ready to start the habit of wearing those dreadful things.
And it hit me… I desperately want her to grow into her newly changing body and be comfortable with the God-glorified-changes that are happnening. Converations are sure to come and the ebb and flow of where those converations will lead, I’m truthfully terifed of. Not because of the topic, but because she may see through my eyes into my heart. That Mommy still struggles to beleive these very things.
I want to tell her boldly and confidently to be comfortable in her own skin. That according to Psalm 139, she is fearfully and wonderfuly made. That blossoming is a part of life and that hormones will try to steal her joy, but not to let it!
But I still struggle each and every day believing these very same things I want to plead with her to embrace.
In a world where women are all different shapes, sizes, colors… I want her to know that she is beautiful just the way she is, because God made her that way.
So can we preach this to ourselves dear Mamas? Can we believe it first before we try to utter those words to our daugthers through gritted teeth?
Repeat these things daily to yourself:
- You are fearfuly and wonderfully made! (Psalm 139:14)
- You are uniquely beautiful, and no other woman is like you! (Psalm 139:13)
- Walk in the Spirit and you will be free from the burden of comparison. (Galations 5:16)
- Her jean size doesn’t make her more beautiful than me.
- Choose to be kind. Always err on the side of love. (1 Corinthians 13:1-8)
- When you talk to another woman, say something life-giving to her. (Ephesians 4:29)
- When you talk to yourself, say only life-giving words.
- Treat your body with respect. It’s the temple of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:19)
- Let the beauty of the Lord be upon me. (Psalm 90:17)
- May my feet be beautiful first because they share the gospel with others. (Romans 10:15)
Let’s practice these very same truths we are trying to instill in our daughters. Let us believe them when they come off our lips. Our daughters will know if we truly mean it or not. Let us live in a way that our daughters see confident, bold, God-fearing, courageous, kind-hearted, loving, fit, healthy Mamas walking before them as examples. Let us show them what walking in freedom truly looks like!
Such a powerful list of attributes to apply to our girls. This is a hard hard time in their lives and we have the power to make it easier or harder. Sometimes I am not so good at that, and I get too busy in the mundane to stop and remember how I felt when I was their ages. I saw that last week when my 13 yo just wanted to literally crawl up on my lap. I was shocked at first but then I remembered how hard this age of change can be, to be honest, as women we go through the same things. I have been asking the Lord to lead me to be grace-filled over and over so that they don’t go limping away but be strong in His promises. I love this list of Truth, Traci! 😉
Blessings,
Dawn