12

when i was 12 we were playing with barbies. dressing them in homemade clothes that joslyn would make in her closet.when i was 12 we were sending love notes to boys sprayed with perfume with my best friend janna. when i was 12 we were calling radio stations late at night just so we could hear our voices giggling over the airways. when i was 12 i was putting playing cards in the spokes of my bike so we could have races down the street. when i was 12 i was saving my money for big league chew. big league chew from the baseball concession stand. when i was 12 i was trying to not like my brothers and be too cool for my parents. when i was 12 i just wanted to be loved and to know that i was still the princess in my dads world. when i was 12 i hated being taller than all of the boys in my class. when i was 12 i still wanted a real cabbage patch doll. when i was 12 i swore i wouldn't kiss a boy until i was married. when i was 12 i thought i knew who God was.
she is 12. she is 12 and plays with stuffed animals. she is 12 and sends notes to her sponsor child in ghana. she is 12 and calls the radio station to hear toby mac. she is 12 and jumps with her friends on the trampoline. she is 12 and saving for a water filter for the kids in liberia. she is 12 and tries not to bothered by her brother and sister although she loves them to pieces. she is 12 and wants to be loved and know that she is the princess in her dads world. she is 12 and taller than her best friend and most all of her friends. she is 12 and never asked for an american girl doll. she is 12 and hopefully hasn't kissed a boy. she is 12 and she knows. she knows who God is.

she turned 12 this week. i look at her and at times am so scared. scared that she will make some of the same choices that i started to make at her age. scared that she won't cling to Jesus through these years. yet i know. i know that Jesus will cling to her. cling to my baby girl. clinging to 12.clinging to her Jesus.