When God Grows Your Kids

By far, one of the best gifts of the entire year has been watching my daughters grow so tangibly. One of my favorite gifts of all time was the one I received eleven years ago today when my oldest daughter was born. In honor of her birthday, I thought I’d re-post one of my favorites about watching God work His amazing in her right in front of my eyes . . .

We watched God work a miracle in our little girl during the weeks that led up to her time away at Schullandheim. The girl who, as a one-year-old, shied away from falling leaves. She didn’t like what she could not control. It scared her. She got that from me. But now, my oldest daughter has become braver than I ever imagined. Because God helped us find our unafraid.

She was, shall we say, less than thrilled at the prospect of going away with her class for three days. Her class full of students who speak little or no English. Teachers who know how to translate most words, except when they don’t. But she was going, we had decided, because it was an opportunity to watch God work. To see Him grow her unafraid as she stepped way beyond her comfort-zone and into a foreign place full of unknowns.

I’d been less than thrilled, too. At first. Until my Mann reminded me of the reasons we’d started this whole one-year-in-Germany-adventure. After that, I put on my unafraid and helped my daughter find hers.

She wore it beautifully.That’s what God used to help her get on that bus. And I know that her own unafraid grew into a kind of courage such as I did not know she had. The kind that inspires her classmates and her teachers because of where it comes from. God Himself.

And now, she can say that she spent three days away from her parents in a foreign land full of German-speakers. That fact, I believe will one day serve as a turning point for her.  Yes, she survived Schullandheim with flying colors, even had a bit of fun. She came home wearing the kind of I-did-it-confidence that uses unafraid as a girdle. The kind that stays. Forever.

To say I am proud of how she let God be her enough is to not even touch the surface of how I feel. For, that girl has matured exponentially since she got home that Friday three weeks ago.

All because God helped us find our unafraid. And we weren’t afraid to wear it.