Raising daughters

Lately I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be a mother to daughters. What is my job? What should I teach them? How can I be their role model? I remember 7 years ago at this time I was pregnant for the first time ever.Actually at this time 7 years ago, I was less that 2 weeks away from finding out if that little tiny creature inside me would be a boy or a girl. I remember the feeling as I laid down on that table and draped a sheet over my belly. I waited for the technician to come in and for my husband to come in. As I laid there, I really can think back now and realize that I had no idea what that defining moment would mean to my life. The technician and Jasper came in the room and after some routine measurements and checks and a little emptying of my bladder, we were able to see that that sweet baby growing and thriving inside my belly was most definitely a girl! I was over the moon. Every woman wants a daughter. We think we know what it will mean to raise a daughter. We think it will be a walk in the park. We think we will have all the answers and never fear a moment. At least I did. 7 years later, I realize, I was wrong. Being a mom of THREE beautiful daughters terrifies me.
Sometimes I think that I will not have the right answers at the right time for them. From time to time I worry that I will not have the ability to raise them with the God fearing, God loving spirit I want them to have. I worry peer pressure will make them cave. I think about the amount of times their hearts will be broken by friends, boys, teachers, family and others. I dread the fact that as much as I would like to shelter their sweet, innocent hearts form all hurt, negativity and struggles, I can't. What I have come to realize lately is that I don't have to. God will fill in the blanks that I can't. I know that what I can do is be a role model. I am pretty sure that until I became a mom 6 1/2 years ago, I didn't know what my goals and ambitions were. Now I do. Being a mom is what fills my heart and soul with joy and contentment. Knowing that I get the privilege of guiding these sweet children is my happiness  But raising daughters is hard. I do not fear raising my son near as much as my daughters. That may sound silly but I just know that as a mom, I have such a huge responsibility to my daughters.
Above all, I pray that I can raise them with class, dignity, self respect, respect for others, love and a God fearing/loving heart. The world today can be a harsh place. It's so tough for young women to know where they stand, which way to go and who to look up to. If I have one goal in life that is most important to me, it would be to lead my children in the way God wishes me to lead them . I pray I am doing an OK job and setting a good example of what a woman should be. Of course, I always have more work to do and I will always be a work in progress, just the way God created me to be. If it was easy and I never tripped, I wouldn't remember to turn to God for grace. His grace carries me through and keeps me reaching to always be better for my children. For my daughters. To help them be the Proverbs 31 women I want them to be. To help ME be the Proverbs 31 woman that I want to be.

These memories warm my heart and make me hopeful that I am the mom they need. The mother that God designed me to be.