LETTING GO....

As Madde is getting older, it is seriously getting harder to let go of her. She wants to go and do things and I know that this is normal for her age and I did these same things at my age but I worry that something will happen to her. I feel my "first born" is truly my guinea pig. I have tested her out on different things and if I mess up I know to do it differently with Harrison.
Madde is EVERYTHING I am not. She is daring and willing to go anywhere, and doesn't even care if she has a friend going or not. I have to have all my ducks in a row and friends lined up in order to go anywhere! I am proud of her adventurous spirit and sometimes envy it a little. For instance, this past summer, she just came out of 5th grade and immediately wanted to go to the Middle School Camp with our church. She knew NO ONE! I was so worried for her, but she jumped off the bus a week later all smiles!

As she is growing, it has been a challenge at times to steer her innocence in the right direction. She had her first school dance and while I knew in my mind that the boys would be on one side of the room while the girls were on the other, I still prayed that she would not notice the girls and boys that weren't on their opposite sides of the room.
As she laid out her outfit the week prior to the dance, she was all smiles heading out, let's just say dad was not feeling the same way letting her go....

As parents there is no manual to guide and protect your children, you do by trial and error and pray that you are not messing up too badly. What I worry and pray about sometimes never comes about in her life, yet other things arise that I didn't even think of. I want to point her constantly in the right direction, yet feel sometimes I mess up big with her by my attitude or reactions to her. That's when I am reminded of God's grace and guidance with me....and I breathe a sigh of relief!
There are so many things I want for my daughter, but more importantly while I am letting her go, I want her to love Jesus and be HIS girl!