Transforming

This one.

My firstborn. She gives me a run for my money.

She's smart but she thinks she knows more than I do.
She's kind but easily annoyed.
She's joyful but tears can come in the blink of an eye.
She loves the Lord but she has some deep questions that she wrestles through.
She's the oldest but she's not the mom.
She's not a little girl but she's also not a teenager. 

She's my tween. I didn't realize how literal that term would be.

I'm usually too hard on her. I'll readily admit it. It comes from a good place in my heart-- I want my children to have a standard of obedience and respect. But the Father is so good to gently remind me that she's His before she's mine. She needs me to be a Godly mother that extends grace as lavishly as its extended to me. There are consequences. And there is grace. I'm still learning. We both are.

She needs me to listen to the many many many many many many things that she has to say. She needs me to laugh at her jokes and tell her that she's beautiful. She needs me to be on her team and in her corner at all times. 

I'm still figuring out how to navigate the drama, the strong will, the forgetfulness, the insecurities and the eagerness to please. When I know that she gets all of that from me.

"Mom the girls double dog dared me to straighten my hair for the last day of school."
Oh, well then, that's serious. It must be done.
"I mean, we haven't straightened my hair since third grade!"
FOREVER ago.
And... 'we'??

Ashley has gorgeous curly hair. Its as wild and bouncy as she is. But like almost all young girls with curly hair, she hates it. She'd rather it be sleek and straight. But Ashley's hair doesn't like to be straight. It curls from the very root. When I flat iron it, long strands will twist and wave in defiance right after I straighten them. Much like the little girl who carries them.

So this morning, while the house was still dark and quiet, we stood together and I slowly and methodically straightened every strand. She sat on a stool and waited patiently. She winced when the heat came to close to her ears or face. She couldn't wait to look in the mirror when it was done and see the transformation. 



And the Lord reminded me once again, that He is the one shaping us both. Mother and daughter alike. He'll use us if we put ourselves in His hands. It takes surrender. It takes patience. There will be heat, but there will be transformation. 

Today, her new do won't last long. But I'm prayerful that the work that the Lord is doing in her life runs deep.

I'm really not the one straightening her out at all. He is. He's straightening where its needed and making a beautiful thing of the curls. He's masterfully creating and molding that sweet girl into exactly who He wants her to be. 

He's transforming me too.

And today I'm thankful for the promise that He will continue His work until the day of Christ Jesus.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Cor. 3:18

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:6