I can tell my toddler how much her mommy and I love her and she will nod her head and say, “Yes, Daddy.”
She’ll probably smile, give me a hug and say, “I love you, Daddy.”
It’s so simple.
I know walking the journey with my daughter won’t always be this easy. There will be attacks on her value. A society bent on exploiting women and girls won’t be concerned with the value I place on her. School-aged boys and girls won’t affirm the value I place on her. Other adults, teachers and coaches won’t be able to match the value I place on her.
That’s why this will be an ongoing project. Parents should take joy in consistent affirmation of their children. Demonstrating the worth of their child(ren) should not take a backseat to other pursuits.
I’m thankful God chooses to affirm his children repeatedly through his word, through the salvation of Jesus Christ and through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
We have the most powerful arsenal as Christian parents to fend off the world that would look to devalue our children. We have truth. I intend to use it.
I hope to reaffirm my daughter with this verse anytime she may have doubts about how special she is. I want her to know she was designed by God and intricately woven for his plans and purposes.
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” – Psalm 139:13-16
When worrying about friendships, test scores, performances or whatever occupies her mind to the point of worry, I want to remind my daughter how she is covered by the generous hand of God.
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” – Matthew 6:25-34
When she doubts her decisions, is discouraged by her sin or depressed about anything, I want her to know she’s worth the following act of love.
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8
I pray one day my toddler will understand the truth of scripture to the point when God tells her He loves her she will say, “Yes, Daddy” and “I love you”.
Question: What verses have been helpful for you in raising your children to know the value they have in the eyes of God?
