The Day has Come



Dear Baby Girl,

Well the day has finally arrived! All we have heard for the last THREE months is the countdown to your birthday (you are SO my daughter!). Now it will be,"365 more days till I get my license." Yuck. That makes me want to be sick. So I won't think about that until I have to. But if the upcoming year goes by as swiftly as the last fifteen have, my head will be spinning and once again I will depend on the Lord to protect you when Daddy and I cannot. I guess it has been awhile since your brothers and sister were this age and I had forgotten how helpless you feel as a parent sometimes when you have a teenager!

This picture was taken on your actual first birthday. I still have this birthday cake outfit! I was so afraid you wouldn't ever grow any hair. Funny how the things you worry about change as you get older. 

Hair! Yeah! And BIG hair bows!!!! You were the absolute sweetest thing. Your heart has always been so tender and loving. I pray that never changes.

One thing that hasn't changed is your willingness to cheese it up any time a camera is around! Again, you are my daughter and Jodi's sister!

As I looked at this picture I was reminded how pleasant life was when you let me dress you. Not so much anymore. Darling. Hard to see it though through watery eyes.

This is your kindergarten picture. I love this picture so much. You were terrified on that first day of school. Cried and cried. I can remember dropping you off at pre-school and you would stand at the window and cry like crazy while I drove away. My mama told me that before I knew it those positions would be reversed. I would be the one at the window watching you go.  I wish I had understood that better. Time is flying and I can't make it stop. I am not sure I want to because I have some angst about the next few years we have ahead of us. You have some growing up to do. I don't mean that to sound like Momma is saying you are immature. Quite the opposite. You have some growing up you HAVE to do. It is time. You are growing into adulthood and becoming a young woman. That is the phase we are at in our lives.

This is you now. No hair bows, no letting me dress you and no crying when your momma has to leave you. Oh, but there has been shedding of tears. Tears over hurt feelings, tears over friends changing, tears over boys (don't worry we have their address!:) ) and tears over things I know nothing about. To me this is the most painful part of being a momma. To know you have to suffer through some trials in order to mature and grow up is painful for us even though we know it is necessary. So what do I do? I pray like crazy for you Savannah. The things I desire for you are so different than what I desired for myself at your age (thank you Lord I had a mama praying for me). It is no secret to you the worries and concerns I have about your generation. I want so desperately for the Lord to grant you discernment and wisdom and for you to desire and seek that for yourself. Psalm 119:9 says "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word."

I pray that you will seek Him with all your heart and not stray from His commands. That you will hide His word in your heart that you might not sin against Him. But..... you will make mistakes and shed many more tears. And Daddy and I will love you through it, but more importantly, you have a Savior that loves you so much He gave His life for you. He desperately wants to have a relationship with you and He is always there for you. He is more patient than I. Thank goodness, right?

You are a blessing of the most precious kind to Daddy and me. We are so proud of your accomplishments and the young lady that you already are. We thank Him profusely for the joy of being granted the gift, ever how short, of raising you and loving you and being able to call ourselves your parents.

Happy, Happy Birthday our precious Savannah. We love you with all our hearts and hope that your day is as special as you are.  And just remember, in the altered words of your muse Taylor Swift,

"Cause when you're fifteen,

Somebody tells you they love you,

You're gonna believe them (but nobody loves you like Momma, Daddy and Jesus)!!!!"