“Mommy, can I try on a pad?”

Yup. She hurled that invisible 10-pounder at me and unintentionally aimed it right at my chest!

She’d knocked the wind out of me and I was praying she didn’t notice.

My response, “Well babe, those cost money…besides it’s not your size!”

#fail

I just didn’t know what else to say.

Sometimes it’s like that. Our girls have the ability to leave us speechless.

It’s not that we haven’t had the talks, we have. But hands on application…not so much.

After catching my breath, picking my face up off the ground, and texting a few friends, I sat down across the table from her and casually re-entered her world.

We talked. We laughed.

In her own way, my daughter was telling me she has heard what I’ve said but she needs to see for herself.

Application. Isn’t that the goal?

…This is weird but stick with me…

With everything we teach our girls we pray that when the time comes they will take what they know and put it to work.

If this is the goal–then why was I surprised? Simply put– application requires experience and often an experience is personal. Her personal experience is out of my control.

As a mom of growing girls…I’m learning to let her go while keeping her close.

What a balance.

With every new experience, I’m learning to trust.

Dear God,

Sometimes I wish I could hand my girls a book and let them experience life through my words. I know that I can’t. I know that there is a life You have planned for them that I cannot control. Give me wisdom, courage and understanding as we experience it together. Help me to be the ear they turn to when they need to be heard, the hand they reach for when they need to be taught and the voice that guides them to Your love.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.