Ode to a Red Head

16 years ago today, I heard quite possibly five of the most life-changing words that have ever been spoken to me. As the doctor held my squiggly, wet newborn, he literally yelled, "That baby has red hair!"

And my life has never been the same!

We didn't have an easy time getting her here and a few days later we thought we were going to lose her, but as I've told her and written to her many times over the years, "God gave you life twice...and that must mean He has a special plan for you." I'm sure He does.

As I've watched her grow from the "peanut" the nurses named (She started out at only 5 lb, 11 oz) into the radiant red-headed beauty she's become...I've also had the privilege of watching a loyal, deeply compassionate, loving and kind, creative, gifted, funny, intelligent and wise, mature-beyond-her-years woman emerge from the child I have been blessed to know.

It's still not always an easy time. She is after all, becoming an adult. And two women so similar yet so different in the same household, will at times create some stress. But this is normal.

Conversely, some of my most treasured conversations reveal her to be more mature, deeply rational and a wise intellectual beyond many of the 30-40 year olds I know. If I had viewed relationships and community with the same respect and wisdom as this "child" does even in my 30's...I would be a different person today. There is no following the crowd, no peer pressure to conform, no acting a certain way just to make someone happy. When there is a problem with a friend I have been awed to see her confront the issue, honestly accept her part for any error and work toward reconciliation and restoration of the relationship she holds dear.

I know these glowing accolades will lead some to believe I'm just melancholy, reminiscing because my "baby" is growing up. But I can assure you, I am not one prone to exaggeration and I am truly one of the most critical people you could ever know. That's precisely why I'm so amazed at the woman she has become. You see, she's had to endure a lot from me.

While I floundered to find my footing before my Abba and sought healing from my own upbringing and disappointments and pain from my own past or present...she had to go along for the ride...and it wasn't always a "pleasant jaunt to the sea". I've tried to admit my failings along the way and to be honest that I am not perfect, but I realistically know there will be issues regarding me that someday God will lead her to sort through and let go.

My prayer has always been to never believe that I've raised my children perfectly...but to strive to give them better than what was given me. Shouldn't that be the goal of every generation? My parents for all their failings, did pass on better than was given to them in many ways. As I relish the delightful young woman that she has become...I happen to believe my prayer has been answered!