Trusting God with Our Courageous Children

If I had to describe all four of my daughters, with one word, I would use “courageous.” I used to think that this was exactly what I wanted in my children and I prayed accordingly. However, if I am completely honest, recently, I have questioned my own prayers.

I, like most, long to see my girls walk in confidence and boldly face anything that is tossed in their direction. When they were younger and would crawl into my bed in the middle of the night after having a bad dream, I would quickly quote 2 Timothy 1:7,

“For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.”

Or when they cried in fear of failing a math test I had no hesitation telling them to repeat Philippians 4:13 after me,

“I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

And when they were convinced that their new teacher was out to fail them, I would easily look them in the eyes and say,

“What then are we to say about these things?

If God is for us, who is against us?” (Romans 8:31)

I want my daughters to believe and apply every part of God’s Word to their lives but recently I realized that this particular declaration came with my personal parental disclaimer. As they are getting older, I find myself whispering prayers like “Lord please don’t let them....”

When I want to sleep at night, I want them to be courageous. 

When they face pressure from peers and are faced with hard decisions I, without a doubt, want them to be courageous.

But my trust does have limits.  For example, when they asked me to swing 1,300 feet over a cliff in Glenwood Springs, Colorado I wanted them to be very afraid! (This is not an exaggeration and actually happened on a recent family vacation!)

Unlike me, my husband could not wait to board this ride with each of our girls and eagerly held out his hand and invited them to join him one by one.

Everything in me wanted to hold them back and force them to stay tucked away safely by my side instead of jumping out of my reach into a situation that made me cringe.

But how unfair would it be for me to hold my courageous daughters captive by my personal fears?

I reluctantly looked at each of them and said, “Do it.” After all, their daddy was calling for them.

As I watched each of my girls swing high above my head, it occurred to me that raising courageous daughters is the scariest thing I have ever done.

In my moment of amusement park desperation, I realized that my preferences, comfort and convenience can not be the barometer that dictates my girl’s willingness to step out of the safety of my reach and into the hands of their Daddy. I have to trust that they recognize the voice and trust the hand of The One calling.

My prayer is that when something higher and bigger pulls them away from my grasp that I will trust their courage over my preference.  More than that I pray that I’ll trust that the Father is with them and that He has their highest and  best interest and purpose at heart.

This post is inspired by content in my new book release She Is Yours: Trusting God as You Raise the Girl God Gave You , available online and in stores wherever books are sold!