Skip to main content

Dear Clara

My daughter, my Clara, my sweet girl,

  You can wear Batman outfits. You can also wear sparkly shoes. You can play with trucks and dinosaurs. You can also play with tea sets and princess dresses.
  Yes, we will happily let you follow your brother on adventures, discovering trees, rocks, and mud, to return with dirty feet and scraped knees. We won't think much of it if you like bugs, or baseball, or the color blue. And likewise, we will be unconcerned if you prefer dolls, ballet, and all things pink and glittery.

  God made you a girl. A beautiful, strong, gentle, capable, precious little girl. Being a girl is a good thing. It is no better and no worse than being a boy. But it is different. And that is a good thing, too. A God-designed thing.
  All girls are not the same, and all boys are not the same. Yet your father and I are different; you and your brother are different.

  One thing we all have in common is this: God made us, just the way we are, intentionally and for the purpose of knowing Him. He did not make a mistake in our design.
  You do not need to be less of a girl. I do not need to be less of a girl.
  But I do need to be less of myself- so that I can be more like Jesus.
  Less like a sinner, lost and broken; more like my Savior, who found me and has made me new.

  I will remind you of these things sometimes, when the world rages against our door with lies. And if you choose to listen, to believe that God designed you well, you will find the incredible joy and inexplicable peace that comes with embracing- not who YOU think you are- but who God says you are.
  After all, He would know. He made you.

  I love you!
    - Mama

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pause Before You Post: Representing yourself responsibly and honestly online

  When I was about eleven years old I went to summer camp for the first time. Before my sister and I left, my mother talked to us about something. She explained that we needed to mindful of our behavior at camp, not only because it is important to be kind and respectful, but also because we would be a representation of both our family and Christ to the people around us. That stuck with me.   Now, with so many of us daily browsing and posting to social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and blogs such as this, our representation is no longer limited to the people we are around in person- it is far-reaching, even global at times. It is certainly a far more widespread representation of yourself to post on the internet than it is to say something in person; on the internet, the dozens or hundreds of people you are connected with may see it. That is an enormous audience.   I feel very strongly that we need to be mindful of that audience, of that re...
Post a Comment
Read more

Girl, Your House is a Mess

  Recently someone on Facebook posted something that bothered me. I didn't fly into a rage and comment viciously- I've been working on not commenting right away- or at all- when something bugs me, because often firing off a comment in the moment isn't most gracious ( more on this here ). But I've been thinking about it, so here we go.   This post was about moms with messy houses, and how there is no excuse for one. People commented largely supporting this- asserting that messes are the result of laziness on the women's part, and that unless you are disabled in some way, you have no excuse. "Especially stay at home mom's," one woman, a stay-at-home mom herself, said, "I want to ask them what they do all day." Another comment agreed that the more time you have at home, the more time you have to clean, and therefore less possible reason why it should be messy. In general, it seemed agreed upon that a few books on your floor for a short amount...
1 comment
Read more

Parenting Adventures: Already, I'm Wrong

  I lay in bed five days ago, staring up at the dark shapes that the shadows made on the ceiling. It was the fourth night since Judah had been born, and I was realizing something: Already, I am wrong.   Before our first child was born- this tiny blessing that we have had for just over a week now- I was certain of many things. I made plans. I confidently stated that our child would never co-sleep with my husband and I, because it was just too scary- and besides, we had a perfectly good cradle for him to sleep in instead. And yet now I found myself cuddled up beside the most precious human being I had ever seen, as he slept deeply (and safely) between Arthur and I in our bed.  Before he was born, I said I’d never give Judah formula. And while I am sticking with breastfeeding, I cannot deny the fact that at 4am three days into motherhood I cried and wanted to give up.     I have realized in these short nine days of Judah’s life that many of the things I was certa...
Post a Comment
Read more