Today marks my little girl's 8th birthday! It's amazing how time flies...Jaylyn has grown from our little Peanut (she was born a month early weighing just over 5 pounds) into a tender-hearted, softball loving, active young lady who loves others and Jesus. Her faith, desire to share it and curiosity to learn more teach me much. As I thought about her birthday, a post from the past came to mind. I pray these words bless you as they do me! And now 5 years later, I'm grateful to say my little lady now has two birthdays - today when we celebrate her physically entering this world and in October when she gave her life to Christ!
A week ago our little Jaylyn celebrated her 3rd birthday! It was an enjoyable day for all of us! She was excited about everything and thankful for even the littlest thing! "Peanut" was a princess and the party was hers!! She even sported a nice princess crown most of the day!
I'd have to say the crown is fitting for my little girl of royalty! She is beautiful, inside and out! Most of the time she's tenderhearted and she really wants to help. Jaylyn is soft-spoken and usually expresses herself more with her eyes than her words. She's a little girl we love and thank God for!
As I thought about my little girl turning 3, I realized she is growing up! She knows her colors, is learning her shapes and wants to do everything her big sister does! And when I look at her 3 month old brother it's obvious that she is not a baby anymore! She is becoming more independent every day!
In my reflecting during this last week I've thought of another birthday that took place a couple of months ago - mine. Not the one with candles, cake and cards, but one that's more significant than that - my spiritual birthday. It's been 10 years since I gave my life to Christ and my what a decade it has been!
I have plenty of thoughts to share, but for now my focus is this - a party for the princess. Honestly it makes me laugh to type those words, it made sense for my little Peanut, but this basketball loving, jeans wearing tomboy has never, and I mean NEVER considered herself a princess! I don't think I even dreamt of it as a child!
But as we celebrated our own little Princess's birthday I wondered if God had done the same for me. We know He is our King, so as His daughter, I am a princess and so are you! Perhaps like me, the title makes you laugh and that's OK, the important thing is understanding what that means.
You, my friend are royalty! Your Father, the King, loves you more than I love Peanut, my princess. Even if others (and even you) don't see it, He knows you are beautiful. The King created you and made you in His image! When others won't listen or can't understand, turn to Him and trust in His plan.
As I thought about these princess parties my mind made some comparisons - God sees me the way I see my child! He knows the good and bad, but loves me anyway. He cries when I hurt and is honored when I obey. I help Jaylyn learn, grow and mature and He does the same for me.
There were many similarities, but one difference came to mind - my little girl is becoming independent and will do so more and more as the years go by. But me on the other hand, I depend more on my Father than I ever have! In 10 years I have grown as a person, matured spiritually and learned much about faith, but little by little my desire for independence has decreased. Unlike my 3 year old, I realize I am not in control!!
In the years ahead I know my little one will only continue to need me less and less, but I pray every step of independence only leads her to take another step towards complete dependence! I look forward to more parties for our princess (and her sister too!) not just ones that celebrate the day we held her in our arms, but also the one that marks the anniversary of when she welcomed HIM into her heart!!
Here's a quote that sums it up quite well,
"In C.S. Lewis' Prince Caspian, a child named Lucy encounters Aslan, the Christ figure of the Narnia stories, after not seeing him for a long while. "Aslan, you're bigger," she says.
"That is because you're older, little one," answered he.
"Not because you are?"
"I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger."
The more mature in the faith we are, the bigger God will be for us. As our vision of God becomes clearer and we understand his enormity, we learn to rest in Him. We grow in our ability to depend completely on Him and know that with a God as competent as the God we find in the pages of Scripture, the universe in which we find ourselves is truly a safe place for us." Kenneth Boa
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| My little Princess and her pup!! |
5 comments:
Jill, I left a comment this morning to this post, and obviously it didn't go through. Could you somehow let me know if you received it.
Mema Jeanne
draper_queen@hotmail.com
Sorry, Jill, I watched as my last previous post went through, so maybe I didn't wait for it to publish. Anyway, I again just wanted to encourage you with how much your posts mean to me. I wait for your Titus24U to come up on my email. I wrote down the quote from Kenneth Boa, and then I looked him up on google. I was particularly interested when I saw he had something written about the Tabernacle as I am teaching Wendy Blight's "Living a Cross- Centered Life- a study in Hebrews." My SS class is in Chapter 10, and I am learning so much; thus I want to go back and reread his material. If you have read any of his books, would you mind suggesting one that I could read.
Your Princess Janlyn is a beautiful daughter of the King. Please know that she may become independent, but she will probably need and desire your companionship and friendship. My daughter is now 34, married, and has a 4 yr. old son, yet she and have grown so much closer since she was in college. There is something about that mother-daughter bond, and having Jesus "among" you is even better.
Loving how God uses you as His servant,
Mema Jeanne
Hello Mema Jeanne, so good to hear from you! I always appreciate your insightful, encouraging words! I have not read any of Kenneth Boa's books, but did appreciate his words about depending on God!!
I love to hear of you and your daughter's relationship...praying the same will be true for my girls and me!! Jesus does create a special connection!
Blessings to you!
Jaylyn is a beautiful girl! I love how you called her "little peanut". My co-worker who sits next to me and has become a good friend calls her daughter Ava "little peanut" all the time. : ) What a great post, Jill! The longer I know the Lord, it seems I have SO much more to know. Praise God your sweet daughter found the best thing in life - a relationship with Jesus Christ.
The nurse in the delivery room gave her that name and it has stuck! She is a tiny lil girl, but she makes up for it with some big time spunk!! Yes, I too have much more to know...that's the beauty of walking with Christ, we can keep growing closer! I join you in praising God for the relationship my daughter has with Christ and for the heart He's given her to share Him with others. Blessings to you!
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