Boogers and All

On a recent shopping trip with my Mother in Law (who I am so thankful to have in my life) I was sharing some thoughts about my daughter. My Malinda who has so captured my heart I believe our bond is much greater than most mothers and daughters(don't we all think this!). After all she is the one I longed and prayed and waited for for so long! Isn't she the one Father God showed me in a dream even before I knew she existed? Isn't she the one who has been described as an extension of myself? She is my sweet girl- my sweet girl who is way too much like her mama for her own good!

So often I find myself being hard on her for no other reason except that I want to spare her the pain and struggles I have gone through in life because of my over the top emotions or the need to share every opinion I have and I have MANY! It breaks my heart when I see in her face the hurt I have caused or a missed opportunity to show grace.

Recently Father God has been showing me how hungry my little girl is for my approval, my love, my affection. This cut me to the core for nothing compares to the love I have for my children. It broke me to think that my baby may not know how amazing I think she is or how much I love her! How highly I think of this little girl who has been known to eat a booger or two! As I just wrote that I am overcome with the thought that perhaps Father God was speaking that over his own little girl. How it must break His heart that I don't realize how much He loves me in spite of the boogers I eat.

After a particularly trying moment of correction Malinda was crumbling into an emotional mess which usually leads to a verbal attack on herself. I scooped her up and sat her on the sofa with myself and turned her so we were face to face. I then proceeded to speak love and encouragement into her. I expressed to her how much I love and value her as my daughter and as my little sister. I could literally see power of these words in her life. Everything about her relaxed and stared sponging it all up. By the end her eyes were dry and mine weren't.

It was after this that it seemed so clear. The way Rob treats his daughter will affect how she interacts with others. She will look for others to treat her as special as her Dadddy treats her. She will look for someone to be there jsut as he is always there for her and of course she will look for others to make her laugh like only daddy can. She will even approach Father God much in the way she approaches her own daddy. But it's the way I treat her that will effect how she sees herself. If I am always harsh on her she sees that she is not good enough. If I am too busy she sees that she is not important enough. If I am not tender she sees she is not precious.

What an awesome opportunity to raise a little girl to become a woman who knows who she is. To help her see herself the way her Father God sees her. I have no control over her journey but I sure can help her pack for the trip. I plan on filling her backpack with all the love, encouragement and wisdom that I can!