Friday, September 20, 2013

Five Minute Friday: She



She was handed to me in all her red-skinned, wrinkly, bald, wailing glory, and I fell hard.  She sniffled, suckled, and looked up at me with those eyes.  She and I struggled through the beginning of this brand new relationship, but every day I found myself more in love.  I told my mother I wished she would stay little forever.  My mother, in her wisdom, reminded me of all I would miss if she never grew up, how every stage was sure to bring unique blessings.

And then, as if I had a choice, I watched her grow.

She learned to sit, to crawl, to walk, to dance.  She learned to colour pictures of flowers and clouds, to shape playdough.  She learned to love a little brother, even when he felt more like an intruder than a friend.  She learned to talk to God, and standing in awe under a star-filled sky found that he could talk to her as well.  She learned read, to add and subtract, to ride a two-wheeler, to sail on a scooter.


Though there were times that just maybe I questioned whether she would live to see adolescence, she blossomed a lovely young lady.


She is a faithful friend, a curious student, an ambitious high-achiever, a skilled musician, a comfortable introvert, a deep thinker.  She is a loving sister, even though he gets on her nerves.  She has embraced the unpleasantness of adolescence and its joys with equal grace.  She leans on the arms of Jesus, and her thoughtfulness and insight blesses me.

At times, though the laundry piles up and the requests for assistance are frequent, though I must give one more reminder to complete the chores and am asked to answer strings of deep questions when she really should be going to sleep, I must remind myself to embrace the unique blessings of today.

In His strength she has the capacity to dream, to discover, to pursue, to achieve. As she walks in faith, she daily has the choice to believe, to bring joy, to bless.  

And I watch in a near-holy anticipation as she continues to venture down the path of becoming.




Five Minute Friday
Linking up with Lisa Jo Baker and her Five Minute Friday crowd.  Click on the button above to find out more, read more entries, or join in the fun.

10 comments :

  1. Oh my- what a delight to read this. I feel like I just had the blessing of looking into a crystal ball. If I should be so lucky. Love the small details and the fact that you still feel them with your heart and write them down after all of these years. I hope to do this as well both now and years from now. Visiting from FMF and I wrote about one of my daughters growing as well. xoxo

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    1. Thank you, Cole! And thank you for sharing your daughter with us as well. Looks like a lot of daughters are receiving the spotlight today. :) Isn't God good for loaning them to us? Bless you!

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  2. I love this! I appreciate the part where you say "as if I had a choice, I watched her grow." :) What a beautiful girl you have!

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  3. being a part of our kids' becomings - that's such a miracle, such a joy. loved this post. your daughter sounds pretty amazing!

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    1. She is pretty amazing. Not perfect :) but amazing. It is a miracle how God loans them to us and gives us the responsibility of being good parents. Good thing HE takes responsibility for who they become. :)

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  4. Such precious time-lapse memories, and what a blessing your daughter is. And how blessed she is that you're her Mom; we daughters realize that more and more as years go by.

    Love that mother-daughter picture, too. :)

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    1. Thanks Kelly! I'm sure she doesn't always agree that she's blessed to have me for a mom ... but grateful that you are correct in that we do realize more and more as time passes how blessed we are, and how smart our moms are. (yeah, mom ... I mean it!) Thanks for coming by!

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  5. Daughters are one of God's best creations : ) Lovely post!

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    1. I have always been more comfortable around boys, but the very day I found out I was pregnant with her I had a mommy-sense that it was a girl. Scared me silly! "What in the world am I going to do with a girl," I wondered. "God must have something to teach me." Oh, how true that has been! :) Thanks for stopping by!

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