I Can't Believe We Are Here

I Was Thinking…

Today is my middle daughter's SWEET 16 birthday! Wow, I can’t believe we are here. She was three when she joined our family so many years ago! When I think of Grace’s life thus far, I think of a rose. As a closed rosebud she was beautiful. You could see snippets of what was at the core of that rose. The beautiful lines of the petals, the soft silky texture, the deep rich color of the flower, but you couldn’t really see the whole flower – it was still held tightly shut. Grace has always had the presence of a beautiful long stemmed rose.  

Even as a little girl she had a sparkle in her eye that was infectious, she held herself with great poise and her physical beauty was noticed by all.  On the outside, she was typically joyful. She loved to play with dolls and create art. She really excelled at most everything she tried. Every now and then we would see snippets of the pain and loss that moved through her soul. We began to understand her great need to be PERFECT. To please everyone - unfortunately at the expense of herself lots of times. It became painfully clear that she believed she was lovable only because she was perfect. So sad!    

Our mission became clear…it was really important to us that our daughter knew she was loved NO MATTER WHAT! We actually had to stop her from doing extra chores and giving up her turn. We talked about the fact that she didn’t HAVE to be perfect. That no one is perfect. It was hard for her and for us. We fought this battle alongside of her for years! Little by little things began to change.

Her trust in us and her trust in herself began to take root. Little by little the bud began to open, allowing the world to see more and more of this precious child. I have to tell you the magnificence of this blossom has become unbelievable. The beauty of the bud fades in comparison to the fully open flower. The sparkle is still there, but now it is blinding. The poise with which she used to carry herself is now just an unbelievably natural part of her being. She is still very beautiful on the outside, but the inner beauty that is a kind and loving heart, an incredible ability to show empathy, unending patience, perseverance, and a gentle sweet confidence is absolutely stunning!

I am so proud and full of love and admiration for this young woman I can hardly put it into words! I am so excited to see what her future holds. I am very lucky to be her mom!