On Living A Beautiful Life (What a Mom can Learn from a Teenage Daughter!)
August 4, 2013
Dear Elizabeth Grace,
Happy Birthday, sweet daughter! I can’t believe you are already a teenager.
Didn’t I just bring you home wrapped in that soft pink blanket Grandma had bought to replace all those blue ones I’d packed in my hospital bag?
Didn’t I just make a hundred phone calls to tell the world that God had given us a baby girl?
I’ll never forget how stunned I felt when the doctor placed your tiny slippery body in my arms and said those three words that turned my world upside down in the most marvelous way: “It’s a girl.”
I’d been so certain you were a boy.
You know the story…. How the night before you were born I’d told Dad that I was ninety-nine percent sure that you were a boy. And then, I’d rattled off all kinds of statistics that I’d read in my prenatal magazine about the inarguable accuracy of a “mother’s hunch.”
And then, Dad, who had peeked at the ultrasound and had been savoring our sweet pink secret, had to roll over and muffle his laughter in his pillow as I chattered on and on about how I’d already begun calling you by our chosen boy name.
I don’t know why I believed you were going to be another boy.
Maybe it’s because, at that point, all I knew of motherhood was wrapped in hues of baby blue and splattered with sand and dirt.
But maybe, the real reason that I didn’t dare to dream of pink was because I’d convinced myself that I’d never have a daughter.
After all, a little girl needs a mom who can teach her to be beautiful.
And at the age of twenty-seven when my identity was still tied to hairstyles and numbers on the scale, I didn’t believe that I had what it takes to raise a beautiful daughter.
How could I teach my daughter to be beautiful when, on most days, I didn’t feel beautiful myself?
How could I raise a Rachel when my own silent fears whispered that I was a Leah?
I didn’t know then that beauty has nothing to do with blonde highlights or jean size or a expensive products from the cosmetic counter at the mall.
I didn’t know yet that beauty has nothing to do with fashion and everything to do with faith.
I didn’t know that beauty isn’t about the shape of my body but the shape of God’s grace.
But here’s the crazy thing, Lizzy.
Here’s what I didn’t know when you were tucked in that secret place beneath my heart in those days of insecurity and doubt:
I wouldn’t have to teach you about beauty; you would teach me.
From the moment your first smile lit up the room, I knew you were beautiful.
When I watched you hug your brother and twirl happy for Jesus in your sparkling pink tutus, when I caught you packing Bandaids in your backpack so you could tend to the hurting kindergarteners on the school playground, when I saw you making your little sister laugh when she was tempted to cry; I knew that I wouldn’t have to teach you about beauty.
You were teaching me.
As you’ve grown from a little girl dancing for Jesus to a young woman chasing steady after His heart, my notion has been confirmed a thousand times over.
You are beautiful, Elizabeth Grace.
And that beauty has nothing to do with your gorgeous curls or your dazzling smile. (Although, I LOVE those pieces of you!)
That beauty has nothing to do with your long slender legs or your adorable shape.
Your beauty, dear daughter, is a can’t-be-bottled-or-sold kind of radiance that comes from fixing your eyes on Jesus and letting His glory seep steady into your soul.
Your beauty is far more than the reflection you see every day in the mirror. It is a reflection of Jesus shining brightly through you.
As you turn thirteen today, I am praying that your teenage years will be beautiful like you.
I’m praying that you’ll peer through the eyes of your Savior and be delighted by what you see.
I’m praying that you’ll chase Jesus more than you chase straight A’s or soccer victories or peer approval.
I’m praying that you’ll tune your ears to the whispers of Jesus and you’ll hear Him say, “You’re beautiful from head to toe, my dear love, beautiful beyond compare, absolutely flawless.” SS 4:7
I’m praying, Lizzy, that you won’t just be a beautiful teen, but that you’ll be a teen who lives a beautiful life.
I’m praying that rather than reaching for the stars, you’ll stoop to serve the least of these; that rather than clinging to expectations, you’ll live with open-handed expectancy.
I’m praying that your teenage years will be decorated with His truth, that your friendships will be embellished with His grace, and that your steps will be adorned with His strength.
I’m praying that you will wrap yourself in Christ’s love and live out the big and beautiful dream Jesus has for your life.
No one else can do the things God’s created you to do, Elizabeth. No one else can spread the beauty He’s made you to share.
There is a hole in this world that only you can fill, dear daughter. There is a role in God’s giant Kingdom plan that only you can play.
So I pray that you’ll live His dream.
And as as you do, may you discover that your Savior’s dreams for your big and beautiful life are “immeasurably more than you could ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20).
Happy Birthday, sweet girl.
I’m grateful that thirteen years ago my ‘mother’s hunch’ was wrong.
I’m glad that God knew the desires of my heart and gave me a daughter.
A beautiful, beautiful daughter.
I love you,
Mom
Joining Ann for Multitude Mondays once again and giving thanks for these simple summer gifts…
2135. Fog lifting as the sun rises
2136. Holy echoes that confirm God’s words to my heart
2137. An editor who believes in my gifts
2138. Inspiration and passions fanned into flame at She Speaks
2139. Girls picnicking with lunch pails in our own backyard- laughing, playing, savoring sister joy
2140. A husband who goes to work every day.. even when he doesn’t feel like it!
2141. Reconnecting with my dear friend, Rebecca; her life in India inspiring mine!
2142. Celebrating the life of Elizabeth Grace– the gift of a beautiful teen!
Laura for playdates with God, Jen for soli deo gloria, The Better Mom, The Mom Initiative, and with Sarah for Mom Notes, and Jen at Rich Faith Rising.
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What a joy to celebrate the beauty in your girl. Your heart sings and the notes truly bless all of us.
Thanks bunches for splashing with us and linking up. Every Monday, I post on Momma Notes. And as always, it is a joy to have you join us. Just moms. Sharing our notes. Creating a melody.
http://justsarahdawn.blogspot.com/2013/08/tune-thirsty.html
Oh, Alicia, friend. This is so beautiful, and you are — and your daughter…oh, what a beautiful and precious creation! What a tribute of love, such a loving and seeing mama, what hope and life right here. Love your heart.
This post, your daughter, YOU… all beautiful, all brought glory to my day! (I still learn from my two grown sons, too.)
I have a feeling that we’ll never stop learning from our children! I’m still laughing about your “belt story” this week. Glad to meet you through SDG.
A beautiful testament to your sweet girl. (And FYI, I thought my first was for SURE a boy, too, only to be greeted with a sweet baby girl!)
And now you’re the mom of TWO sweet girls, right?
Oh Alicia–
What a completely lovely tribute for your daughter — and such important reminders for ALL of us to hear!
Beautiful words. My daughters are 15 and 12 and I cannot believe how big they are getting. Turning into young ladies.
Visiting for Soli Deo Gloria! God bless!
My hubby and I have raised two daughters, so your wishes for your daughter speak deeply to me.
My oldest just had a little girl last week, and your words are my prayers for my first granddaughter, especially to live a beautiful life, to know she is so dearly loved, and to joyfully and boldly fill that role that only she was made to fill.
Thanks for sharing this beautiful letter!
Oh, Kim, congrats on your new little granddaughter! What a sweet, sweet gift. And how lucky she is to have a praying Grandma 🙂
Thanks for stopping by at my blog. Congratulations on your daughter’s 13th and what a lovely tribute to her! My sweet girl, almost 16, has taught me so much too 🙂 Wonderful to have a precious daughter who loves Jesus.
Packing bandaids in her backpack — how sweet! She looks right at home in that queen chair. What a sweet, sweet post, Alicia. I have four boys…and a grandson. Someday, there will be a granddaughter…
Oh, this is deeply lovely, Alicia. May your prayers for your daughter be fulfilled as you continue shepherding her special heart. And I want my girls to chase Jesus more than straight A’s, too. (Although both would be nice, ha.) Happy birthday to your sweet eldest daughter!
Thanks, friend.
Hi Alicia,
Aren’t daughters special?
I have 3 sons and they are wonderful young men, but my daughter is a precious gift. Even if she wasn’t my daughter, I would want to be friends with her because she’s pretty neat. And like your daughter, she has a beautiful heart for God.
Enjoy your birthday celebration.
Be blessed,
Barbara
(from The Better Mom link up)
I wish I daughters could meet 🙂
Hi Alicia! Thank you so much for introducing yourself on my blog today. I LOVE making new blog friends!
Your note to your daughter is so sweet and heart-felt. I hope she will get the chance to read it? This is so familiar to me, as my daughter just had her ultrasound. It’s a girl, and she was positive it was going to be a boy. Sound familiar? LOL! But God has his plan, and we sit in wonder of his wisdom. What a blessing your Lizzy is to you.
By the way…the name of the little one growing inside my daughter? “Elizabeth” I kid you not. I think we are destined to know each other better!
Come by again sometime, will ‘ya?
Ceil
Wow! I do think we were meant to be friends 🙂 Blessings over your sweet Elizabeth- I bet you’re counting down the days til you can hold her in your arms.
Alicia,
What a beautiful tribute to your beautiful daughter…what a gift she is and what a gift you are to her 🙂
Thanks, Dolly. She is a gift!
So beautiful. My own daughter turns 13 this year, and I just can’t believe time has gone by so fast!! How can my baby girl be 13?! I’ve grown and learned so much too from my daughter, she amazes me every day.
Wish we could sip coffee and swap stories about these precious teens of ours. I always thought it was my job to teach my children, but now I know God uses them to teach me far more!
This is so beautiful. And your beautiful daughter has a beautiful mom!
Spoken from a friend who has seen me with bed-head in the morning… I’ll take that as a compliment that I can pocket today 🙂