A Letter to My Daughter

Today, my pre-teen daughter, Kelsey, is no longer a pre-teen. That’s right, I am now the mother of a teenager.

While she has been informing me for the past month or two that “technically” she is now allowed to do such-and-such, I have resisted entering this territory until absolutely necessary.

By the way, sweet daughter, you should hold off on playing the “technically-I-can-because-I’m-now-13” card until you actually turn 13. Just saying.

Regardless, there are three things I want to make sure my daughter knows as she continues to grow up.

Dear Kelsey,

*God loves you more than I am humanly capable of loving you.

That doesn’t in any way take away from how much I love you, but God will always love you more. And nothing, nothing¸ can separate you from His love.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39 NLT

As you navigate through life, you will have questions and uncertainty. Take it all to Him. He knows you and what you are struggling with. Your questions will not make Him love you any less, I promise. But more importantly, He promises.

*I love you, always and forever, no matter what. I’ve been telling you this since you were small, and I don’t want you to forget.

I may not always like what you’re doing, but I always love you.

There may be consequences for your behavior, but they don’t take away from how much I love you.

I may be frustrated, irritated, or angry (and on bad days, all three), but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you anymore.

And I will be here for you.

*I like you for who you are.

Yes, I like you because you are my daughter and I love you. But I want you to know that I like you—because you are you.

I like the beautiful girl you are growing up to be. Beautiful on the inside and the outside.

I like the caring person you are, and how you believe in what’s right.

I like watching your faith grow and seeing now how important God is to you. I like sharing my faith with you and having you share yours with me.

I like you as a person, and even if you weren’t my daughter, I would like you.

You are awesome! And it shines for all to see.

Happy Birthday Kelsey!

Love Always,

Mom

In Christ,

Laura

Linking up with #TellHisStory, Winsome Wednesday, WholeHearted Wednesday