Letter To My Wildflower

I'm a wildflower growing in the sunshine
Soaking up the way of life I was raised in
Running barefoot
Blooming in a summer shower
Ponytail dancin'
I can't help it -
I'm a wildflower - The Jane Dear Girls

To my daughter:

My beautiful girl, I wish so much that you could see yourself through my eyes, that you could see you the way I do. I look at you and I see the most amazing creature. Your soul is beautiful and kind. You have an inner light that shines so brightly that your eyes sparkle with it. Your smile, your sense of humor are all an extension of that light. You know who you are.

The song above could have been written about you. I have a picture of you on your horse, bareback and bare-footed. You are free and strong. You are natural. You are amazing.

I pray as you grow up that you can separate the weeds of this world. The ones who tell you that you have to look a certain way, act a certain way, exceed at certain activities in order to BE SOMEONE. I hope you can look at the "roses" standing so pretty and perfectly in their vases and realize that they have been pruned and groomed and tinted and manufactured so much that their natural light and beauty has been diminished. You don't have to fit into any worldly box to be someone. I hope you don't take to heart those that tell you a wildflower isn't good enough for the florists window. The truth is that a wildflower has to be so much stronger, so much more resilient in order to survive, and the beauty of that flower standing in the sunshine, in the middle of a field of weeds, is breathtaking. It's you.

And always, always remember these two things: 1. Always place your faith in God. He will never leave you and He understands; and 2. If God lined up all the 12 yr. old girls on earth and looked at me and said, "OK, you can take your pick", I'd choose YOU. YOU are my gift from Him.

Love, Mom