God Made Girls

RaeLynn "God Made Girls"

Somebody's gotta wear a pretty skirt,

Somebody's gotta be the one to flirt,

Somebody's gotta wanna hold his hand so God Made Girls

Somebody's gotta make him get dressed up,

Give him a reason to wash that truck,

Somebody's gotta teach him how to dance,

So God made girls.

He needed something soft and loud and sweet and proud

But tough enough to break a heart

Something beautiful, unbreakable, that lights up in the dark

So God made girls, God made girls

He stood back and told the boys, "I'm 'bout to rock your world."

And God made girls (for singing in your front seat)

God made girls (for dancin' to their own beat)

He stood back and told the boys, "I'm 'bout to rock your world."

And God made girls.

Somebody's gotta be the one to cry

Somebody's gotta let him drive

Give him a reason to hold that door so God made girls

Somebody's gotta put up a fight,

Make him wait on a Saturday night

To walk downstairs and blow his mind,

So God made girls.

Something that can wake him up and call his bluff and drag his butt to church

Something that is hard to handle

Somethin' fragile to hold him when he hurts

So God made girls, God made girls

He stood back and told the boys, "I'm 'bout to rock your world."

And God made girls (for singin' in your front seat)

God made girls (for dancin' to their own beat)

He stood back and told the boys, "I'm 'bout to rock your world."

And God made girls

Somebody's gotta wear a pretty skirt,

Somebody's gotta be the one to flirt,

Somebody's gotta wanna hold his hand

So God made girls, God made girls

He stood back and told the boys, "I'm 'bout to rock your world."

And God made girls (for singin' in your front seat)

God made girls (for dancin' to their own beat)

He stood back and told the boys, "I'm 'bout to rock your world."

And God made girls

Somebody's gotta wear a pretty skirt,

Somebody's gotta be the one to flirt (and God made girls, yeah)

Somebody's gotta wanna hold his hand

So God made girls 

 

There are a lot of girls in our home. There's a lot of pink. A lot of emotions. A lot of crying. A lot of loud singing. A lot of dresses and baby dolls and Frozen gear. Even our dog is a girl! When the girls are out and about (with or without my husband) people like to say, "Dad's outnumbered!" Indeed he is. But he also loves it. My husband has a heart for women. He treasures his position in our family and the opportunity he has to make us all feel edified and valued, like the princesses God made us to be. Upon learning that we are expecting again, people automatically assume that Dad must want a boy. Actually, if you ask him, he would tell you he'd love to maintain his house full of princesses. 

Girls are all we have known. While each of our daughters possess their own unique personality, as the mother of all daughters I understand their general makeup. I understand their parts, their hearts, their emotions, etc. I know when they push me away the most, what they really are asking is for me to hold them close. I know when they need me to buckle down and be a disciplinarian and when they need to just have a breakdown for a moment instead. I know they need to run around and be really loud sometimes. I know it's normal for them to change their clothes three times a day (It's no small task for a girl to get the right outfit!). I know they literally may not be able to stop talking (ever). I know they genuinely care about how their hair looks at the age of 2 and that simply being allowed to wear chapstick makes them feel beautiful. I know their inner desire to be seen, to be affirmed, to know that they are enough. When people have asked me what gender I'd like the new baby to be, I say, "Well, girls are all I know. I don't know what I'd do with a boy!" 

This morning at our 20-week ultrasound we were able to learn the gender of the newest addition to our family. We asked the nurse to write it down and put it in an envelope, and then we opened it together with the girls once we got home. I was overcome with joyful tears when we learned the news.

I still don't know what I'll do with a boy. But I know I'll learn. I'll learn his parts, his heart, and all the other things that make him a prince at the core of his very makeup. I couldn't be more excited. We have a son!

Don't Let That Steal Your Joy

We have some cousins on my husband's side of the family that have a small herd of children. Every time I'm around them I find myself admiring them more and more. For lots of different reasons...like how they grow a lot of their own food, their philosophy behind their decision to homeschool, their grace and patience amidst the chaos of raising five young children, etc. But one interaction with them many years ago made an impact on me and continues to move me to this day.

We were eating pizza together at our house. Our oldest daughter was just a baby at the time. I'm not sure we had many toys that appealed to their older kiddos. So, they were drawing pictures. Their son, just a toddler, went up to their older daughter and scribbled on her picture. She was crushed. She had been taking her time creating her work of art, and now there was unwanted color spilled carelessly on her picture. She went to her mom in tears. I watched with curiosity to see how the mom would react. I was surprised. I guess I expected the toddler to be addressed. Not necessarily reprimanded, he was just a toddler after all. But at least told what he did wrong or something. Instead, the mom looked at her disappointed daughter and very calmly told her, "Don't let that steal your joy." Sometimes in life you have an experience that you are able to glean something significant from. This was such an experience for me. I tucked that little piece of wisdom away in my heart and trusted it would be used someday.

Fast forward to now when my husband and I have our own small herd of children. I have found myself many, many times encouraging my daughters not to let a particular offense steal their joy. It is a regular occurrence around here that someone's picture gets scribbled on or someone's feelings get hurt (even my 2-year-old verbalizes that her "feewings" are hurt or when so-and-so is "being not weawy vewy nice" to her!). Living life with others is tough! And it's messy. And frustrating. And sometimes just plain irritating. Do I correct the child that is in the wrong? Oftentimes, yes. But whether I do or whether I don't, I try to make it a habit to look at my child who has experienced a hurt and calmly say, "Don't let that steal your joy."

Recently the atmosphere of our home has been stressful. I blame it on a lot of things...like being cooped up during the winter season, our children seem to be going through difficult stages simultaneously, I happen to have raging pregnancy hormones, etc. I have been venting to my husband about my struggle to deal with all of the crying, and arguing, and bad attitudes, and general discontent I see occurring with our children. I usually feel strong and able to extend a good amount of patience and grace. But, I'm not going to lie, I have been at my wits end. And so I got on my knees today and I asked God to show me how to love my children in the way that they need it. To my surprise, God did not respond by telling me to spend more individual time with my kids. He didn't respond by telling me to prioritize my day better by not worrying about getting things done and just playing with the kids instead. He didn't tell me I need more "me" time or anything like that. You know what he did tell me? "Don't let that steal your joy."

Maybe you are asking, "Don't let what steal your joy?" Let me give you a few examples. It is all the little things. It's not being able to put laundry away without stopping to solve several conflicts. Or realizing my one-year-old got 367 other items out while I was putting that laundry away that I now have to clean up. But not before my older daughter goes running down the hallway and steps on an open bottle of aloe causing it to shoot 3 feet across the carpet and up the wall. Oh, let me just use these cloths I was going to put away to clean that up. Meanwhile, maybe there is a potty accident (again). And then maybe the baby poops for the 3rd time that morning and I have to hold her down while she attempts an alligator death roll to escape a diaper change. On top of that my husband and I haven't been on a date in an eternity and instead of using the couple hours we see each other in an evening to connect and enjoy one another, tired from our day we unfortunately often just scribble on each others' works of art, if you know what I mean.  

The fact is, life doesn't change all that much as an adult. It's still hard to do life with others. It's still messy and frustrating and irritating. People still hurt one another, even when they love each other. I'll never be able to really truly protect my children from what they will experience from others in life. And, for that matter, I can't fully protect myself either. So I'm left with the thought instead, that we simply cannot let our joy be so easily taken. Our joy has to come from somewhere inside us that cannot be moved by what occurs around us. In John 10:10 Jesus plainly states that it is the enemy that comes to STEAL, and kill, and destroy our lives. But it is He who comes to give us life, and not just any old life but life to the absolute fullest. Beyond what we can imagine. More than what we can ask for. Above what we can hope for. This is good news! Knowing this truth I can see how the enemy is up against me in all the little things that come with being a stay-at-home mom. I realized that I cannot expect something from my children that I am not practicing myself. I reclaimed my joy today. And it was a good day.