A letter to my daughter

Baby girl, I was SO sure you were a boy, but you shocked me! I'm guessing that this won't be the last time you take me by surprise.😘

You know the story: your dad and I had an ultrasound the beginning of the week and had decided we would wait until that weekend at our gender reveal party to find out if you were a boy or girl. My suspicion was that you were a boy, but I truly didn't care either way. I knew daddy didn't care either, but he had recently seen a picture of a baby girl with a headband bow and his heart melted. He told me that we would buy ALL the bows if you were a girl. 

The way he already loves you has melted MY heart.💗

At the ultrasound everything looked perfect; you had 10 fingers and 10 toes and my pouty lips. The ultrasound technician then told us to look away if we didn't want to know the gender. You know your dad is stubborn and had to look! He didn't expect the gender to be written all over the screen, but it was! 😄

So we leave the ultrasound and dad knows if you are a boy or a girl, but I don't. How did that work out?! I was a little irritated at him, but decided to wait until the gender reveal to find out anyway. All week he had me convinced that you were a boy. It just felt like he talked about you being a boy and he didn't mention anything about buying bows. He is so bad at secrets that I thought there was no way you were a girl and he was keeping that a secret!

I told people that I was 98 percent sure you were a boy, but it was that 2 percent that was eating me alive.

What a shock I had when daddy finally blew up that giant cloud of PINK chalk.

 What a special moment I will never forget and I will always hold close to my heart.

The days that followed brought so many emotions. I immediately bought little hospital hats that had BOWS on them for daddy of course! Everything started to feel real and sink in that this pregnancy was going to actually bring about a tiny little human. We had created a little girl to name, to snuggle, and to put bows and dresses on. It was an exciting and blissful time for me and daddy.

It hit me that not very long from now, I would be holding the hand of a girl who would one day look to me to see what a woman should be like. I feel inadequate and overwhelmed. It feels like so much pressure as I'm still trying to figure out who I want to be as a woman.

I have a lot of dreams and hopes for you as you grow up in this crazy world. Some of them don't matter and aren't important, but there are a few that I want you to know.

I pray that you always know that you are a gift of God. Not only to us, but to Him as your heavenly Father and to the people around you in life. He has chosen you to be in this world for "such a time as this". You weren't an accident or a mistake. God purposed that you would be born to us at the exact time you were.

That means your future is ordained and a gift for you to explore and discover. Only you decide the type of person you will be, and how much you will impact this world.

I also pray that you will always be a strong fighter; a warrior. This world is full of weak people. They are weak physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Choose to be strong.

 I think daddy and I secretly hope you join us in weight lifting to become strong physically, but we will let you choose your own version of strong and healthy. 😉
When you push yourself physically and choose healthy life habits, you will grow your mental and emotional capability as well. You must be self-disciplined and determined to stay healthy.  You can be as strong as you want to be, have as thick of thighs as you want (odds are they will be thick whether or not you want them to be, so might as well embrace them! 😜, and be as determined as you want to be physically. It will only fuel a passion for life and it will bring you an inner strength as a woman to know you are capable and motivated.
This world gives us a lot of stereotypes of what a woman should and shouldn't look like.
 All you need to do is to find a way to live a healthy, balanced and capable life, whatever that looks like for you. 

You must be strong emotionally and mentally. 

The stereotype of a woman is to be emotional, moody, shallow, and focused on material things. Throw that stereotype far away and instead embrace being intellectual, stable, driven, and unmoved by circumstances. There will be hormones, frustrating circumstances, and hard days: rise above them. Be a strong fighter. (You can always cry and vent to me though- odds are I've been there and get it)

Baby girl, never ever stop fighting to be strong spiritually. 

Your mom and dad both know how hard the world pulls us away from Jesus and eternal things, but keep swimming against the ordinary. Keep your heart soft towards Jesus and towards other people. 

Jesus is more important than anything else you could desire on this earth. 

Lastly, here's a list of life instructions that your dad and I strive to live by:

Never stop learning.

Be strong enough to realize that you need Jesus. 

Never think you "have arrived".

Always stay humble.

Don't judge anyone by what you see externally. Everyone has an untold story that shapes who they are.

Don't nag, complain, or gossip. Instead use your words to encourage and lift up.

Fear keeps people in bondage. With God's help, say NO to fear.

(That being said, never ignore the healthy fear, the instinct that tells you to "get out/leave/stop right now!")

Drink more WATER.

Read the Bible with intention and passion.

There is always someone going through a darker trial and pushing themselves harder than you. Pity parties are a waste of time and get you nowhere. 

Stand by the convictions God has given you, but be open to hearing and learning from other's opinions and ways of living.

Eat your veggies and take your supplements, but never pass up blueberry pancakes. (Okay, that's your pregnant mom cravings speaking.😊

Listen more than you talk. Ask people questions about their lives. You will always learn something that you can apply to your life.

If God places something or someone on your mind and heart, don't ignore it.

Don't ever let tomorrow's worries rob you of today's joy.

If someone needs you, rearrange your schedule and throw out your to-do list for them.

Give generously.

Admit it when you are wrong or you messed up. Be quick to apologize, ask for forgiveness, and make amends.
God will give you dreams and goals- don't ignore them, but hold them close to your heart and work towards them, even if they take years to accomplish. 

Care more about relationships than things.

Hike at least one mountain in your lifetime.

Be compassionate and kind.

Be strong.

Be better than your mom and dad.

Be like Jesus.

My precious daughter, please bear with me as I stumble through being a first-time mom. I'm sorry that you are our "guinea pig" child; hopefully you survive and still love us in 18 years. :)

I love you more than words can say.