daughters . . .

so today . . . diandra preached during church. it was the first time she has preached for the whole church and not just the youth group. it was interesting to watch her and see that while there were some similarities between the way she preached and the way her dad preaches, there were also some differences. i was so proud of her! which got me to thinking about how wonderful it is to have a child. and even though my "child" is all grown up, it is still pretty wonderful.












here's the thing--she isn't just like me, but she is like me. and she isn't just like her dad, but she is like him. we can see shades of her aunt and her uncle (from different sides of the family) and her grandparents in there too. and then there are the totally surprising parts that we don't see in anyone else--those parts of her that are uniquely diandra.

when she is dealing with kids or teens, she is me. when i hear her say, "it isn't your words that are the problem--it is way you said them!" and the response she gets is "what~" as only a teenager can say it, i just laugh! my words are coming out of her mouth. she is now on the adult side of that conversation that every parent has had numerous times with their teenagers. when she tells a joke, she is definitely her dad! but she is also her dad when she is explaining the Bible and spiritual concepts to her youth group. she is strong-willed like my brother was as a young person, but also nice like rollie's sister. she is friendly like both of her grandpas and has strong opinions like my mom and loves music like rollie's mom. she is creative like my grandma was, she has my eyes and rollie's hair, but her smile is all her own (well, hers and dr. hodges'.)

she is just beautiful (i guess she gets that from my mom too!) it will be interesting to see who she is when she is 30 or 35, because we all change. none of us are the same person we were when we were 20. our experiences and circumstances, and the people we spend time with all effect who we become at 35 or 40.

for now, i think my daughter is a pretty awesome person. and while i take credit for much of that awesomeness, i can't take credit for it all. she has the best dad! she has an extended family full of wonderful people. she has a church family who loves her and supports her. and she makes good choices about who she will be and what she will be like. so i am not worried about what she will be like in a few years . . .


. . . because i think she will always be awesome.