Our firstborn turned TEN yesterday… One – Zero! She officially entered The Double-Digits – how did THAT happen?
It’s hard to wrap our minds around how quickly this little girl is maturing. We’ve often joked that she was born ready to run the world but had to learn to walk first! She is such a gift to our family ~ responsible, always ready to play with siblings, helpful with chores, loves to learn, and bakes some pretty fabulous goodies for us!
Any parent who’s been blessed with a strong-willed child knows that these are the kids that keep you on your knees. They make you humble – reliant on God’s grace – and keep you begging for wisdom. And while this doesn’t make parenting easy, it is incredibly rewarding when you see the fruit that comes from sewing good seed into their hearts.
Man oh man, do we love this little (not so little) girl!
I am personally inspired by her sense of adventure. When it comes to exploring the outdoors, she is willing to take risks and be uncomfortable in order to see and do new things – I love that about her.
I am also inspired by her ability to make friends in like 2.5 seconds! She never lets fear of rejection keep her from having fun and making new friends. And she is no respecter of persons – she’ll sit and visit with older folks, or round up a group of neighborhood kids to play, or babysit toddlers at church, or patiently rock a fussy baby to sleep. Wherever there are people, that’s where she wants to be!
And, ever since she was a toddler, I have been challenged by her generosity to give away what little she has.
As her parents we see it all – her good, her bad, and her ugly. But at the end of the day, what we really see is Jesus – His grace over her and His grace over us as her parents. Because we have our good, bad, and ugly too!
We delight in encouraging the potential in her, but we know that God’s plans for her are even higher than ours!
And though we have certain desires for her, we believe that His purposes for her are even better than ours!
And while our goal is to lovingly teach, train, and discipline her, we trust that His ways of refining her are far more effective than ours.
And knowing these things is what makes parenting this little lady such an enjoyable experience!
Oh what a privilege to shepherd the heart of this strong-willed child… what a joy to watch as victories over the flesh are won!… and what a gift to be reminded of our daily need for heavenly wisdom to fulfill this earthly calling!
Happy 10th Birthday to our precious Nya Joy.
We LOVE being your parents!