I'm a mother of five, two girls and three boys. Their ages range from five years old to nineteen. My younger daughter is twelve. That's a hard age.
I remember hating middle school. Girls can be so mean. Your pants are too short. Your shoes are the wrong brand. Your family drives an old car. You have a mustache, or whatever. Kids tend to make up for their low confidence by overcompensating with sassy attitude and rude joking.
My daughter was falling into the trap, as her sister had before her. She used to be all sunshine and butterflies, swirling and singing, hair flowing freely, wearing every glittery accessory in her closet. Where did that little girl go? She had become more withdrawn, made discouraging comments about her body, and--ope--there was that attitude again! All she talked about was needing a phone. Apparently she's the only one in the entire world without one, and it had to be a new iPhone, not a lame android (like I have), and if I got her a restricted baby starter phone, she didn't even want it. She still doesn't have a phone by the way.
My husband and I were chatting about her the other day. Now that she has been removed from certain people for a time, we feel like we have our daughter back. She has delved into really creative personal projects and is really starting to take ownership of herself. She smiles, jokes, and talks more. We've noticed the sparkle returning to her eye, and we will do everything we can to protect that.
“Radical obedience to Christ is not easy... It's not comfort, not health, not wealth, and not prosperity in this world. Radical obedience to Christ risks losing all these things. But in the end, such risk finds its reward in Christ. And he is more than enough for us.”
― David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream
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