Monday, May 10, 2010

Baby Girl


Dear Big Girl Esmé,

When you were a baby, you couldn't do very much by yourself.  But you did some pretty amazing stuff!

You started standing on your Daddy's hand when you were 3 months old.  Soon you were able to dunk a basketball - in a real-sized basketball hoop!

You could sit upright on a skateboard before you could sit upright on the floor.  Soon you were skating down really long ramps!

You could do all kinds of really cool stuff, as long as you trusted your Daddy to keep you balanced.

You are not a baby anymore.  You are a big girl.

And you are becoming more self-reliant.  You don't depend on Daddy to keep your balance for you.

Which means when you stand on his hands, you bend over, trying to compensate for shakiness.  And you fall.  He catches you in his arms, so you don't get hurt, but you're not dunking baskets anymore.

And when you skateboard, you lie with your tummy on the board.  Which is fun, but not nearly as exciting, and it doesn't get you very far.

It's to be expected, this self-reliance, this part of growing up.  But as I watch you sleep, the innocence and trust on your face again, I pray that you will always be a baby girl in the most important way.


See, your heavenly Father can help you do some pretty incredible things.  And His plan for you is far more exciting than your own plan could ever be.

But it'll only work if you rely on Him completely.  Trust Him to keep you balanced.  Don't panic when you're high in the air, far from the safety of the ground.  Set aside all notions of "I can do it by myself."

He will catch you if, when, you fall.  Be assured of that.

You are amazing.  But it's only by letting Him raise you up, trusting Him completely, that you will be more than YOU can be.

Here's to always being His baby, my amazing big girl...

Love,

Your Mom

4 comments:

ShEiLa said...

Such awesome photos!

Little Miss Esme... so very cute.

ToOdLeS.

CristyLynn said...

What a good reminder for all of us! Emse will have some treasures in these letters that you write her.

Anonymous said...

What an awesome and beautiful post!

- Carrie, RtK

Genny said...

This gave me such a lump in my throat! They grow up so fast, don't they?

Hugs!