Praying for daughters

Last night our neighborhood friends gathered for tennis and dinner.  It was an exceptionally good turn out as the holiday festivities are over and school commitments have not yet begun.

As our conversations grew, I was reminded how important it is to pray for our daughters...daily.  There are so many messages that tell young women they are not good enough, not thin enough, not tall enough, not pretty enough, not popular enough, not athletic enough, not smart enough, not dressed right, and on and on and on.

Hug your daughter today and tell her you love her, just as she it.  Hold your daughter today and tell her that all those messages out there are wrong.  Have a frank conversation with your daughter and tell her not to listen to all that clutter out there, but to search deep inside herself to find the person God made her to be.  Celebrate that finding and pledge to be her greatest supporter, accepting her just as she is.  Walk with her, and listen to her, and affirm her feelings.  Share your experiences as a young woman.  Be honest.  You may not remember how hard it was to get through the teenage years, but I implore you to really remember.  And whatever you can dust off in your mind, remember, it is exponentially more difficult for girls growing up today.  We must be advocates for our daughters and for our friends' daughters and for our enemies' daughters.  The cycle of violence can be broken if we intend for it to be broken.  And I am convinced that the messages girls receive today are violent and destructive.

1 Thessalonians 5: 15-24 --15 See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise the words of prophets, 21 but test everything; hold fast to what is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil. 23 May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this. --NRSV

So today I pray for you and for your daughter(s).  May you find time today to rejoice, to pray, and to give thanks for the amazing women in your life.

Thanks be to God!