ANOTHER TEEN

Unbelievable, the way time passes...

Today is our youngest daughter's thirteenth birthday. Tessa Rose with the button nose. It's her birthday, but what a gift from God she is to us. Beautiful, talented, ardent in likes and dislikes, thoughtful and sensitive, helpful and servant-hearted. Her rippling, musical laugh delights my soul; her round, blue eyes spilling over with tears breaks my heart. Caught in the riptide of passage between childhood and young womanhood, she dances and stumbles.

I don't even remember my thirteenth birthday, but I do remember the ups, downs, and lost-somewhere-in-betweens of the age. Observing one's daughter travel that road brings back some of the feelings...my job now is to discern when to catch her and when to let her fall.

I saw a sign that said, "Raising teenagers is kind of like nailing Jello to a tree." My interpretation: It's a sweet challenge requiring patience and ingenuity and grace.

Last August, Taylie and Tessa and I were out picking wild blueberries. As we walked back to the car, I was flanked by the girls who each carried a full bucket in one hand and held my hands with the other. The late afternoon sun cast our shadows before us and the image smote my heart. I marveled at what God has done: given me two beautiful daughters who want to be with me, talk with me, learn from me, and teach me of themselves. How blessed I am!