I had a conversation with a friend about an article that was saying how they don’t think it’s healthy to raise little girls like they are princesses because they will grow up thinking they need a man to come rescue them.  I thought about this a lot and reflected on my own childhood and how I think there needs to be a balance. and the balance comes from not making girls feel like princesses, but making them feel precious and adored.  In line with this, I was thinking this morning about the greatest thing a father can do for his daughter.  I know there are a lot of things, and everyone would probably say something different, but I think the greatest thing a father can do for his daughter is to not treat her like a delicate princess, but to make her feel precious, and to always tell her she is beautiful.  I know this from experience because I’ll never forget all the times you had me and Claire crawl up in your lap so you could kiss on us and tell us how beautiful we were.  And I’m sure we rolled our eyes and giggled, but I know we took it to heart, because I grew up not worrying about having to be beautiful, because my roots were watered with your praises and I knew I was beautiful because my Daddy told me so!  And little girls need to not worry about being beautiful (like princesses do) so that they can grow strong and confident, and have the courage to play and uncover the Lord’s mysteries laid out before them. The wonderful thing about this is you still tell us how beautiful we are to this day. And we still giggle and roll our eyes but it’s still watering our roots, to the point were Claire knew she was beautiful enough to find a man who will tell her everyday, and since he does that everyday, she knows that he will tell their daughters everyday, so they can grow up strong and courageous. And my roots are strong enough to know that that’s what I deserve too. So as a woman, who is fixing to hit a quarter of a century old, I wanted to say thank you for equipping this princess to be strong and brave enough to fight for the kingdom she deserves.

Love,
Caroline