Today our girl turns sixteen. I’ve grown so accustomed to her long-time presence in our story that sometimes I forget how hard we fought to bring her into this world. She’s our living, breathing miracle. Our rainbow baby. She is the refracting light from sun shining through tears, revealing something exquisite as only God can.
There are, of course, lots of thing I don’t forget. I can still see the sleeping length of her baby eyelashes. I recall her affinity for tutus between the ages of 2 and 8. I’m in awe of her ability to craft anything out of nothing and how it always looks like something. She’s crazy smart but she never lets it look like she’s trying too hard. She refuses to wear the very same outfit twice. The girl can sing; how she can sing! She has near perfect pitch like her dad and brother, always leaving momma waiting in the wings. She can quote all the lyrics to her favorites musicals and she’s never afraid to take a risk.
This morning an hour before the sun rises, she’s up. Too excited to sleep, of course. Our typical Sarah, I hear her putting in the bathroom. She’s expertly applying eye makeup and contour highlights. YouTube has taught her far better than I could. She’s thinking about her birthday and I’m thinking about who she’s becoming.
“Do I look older, Mom?”
She asks me with all seriousness and I swallow hard; trying to reckon this beautiful near-woman with the baby we brought home from the hospital.
“Yes, very.”
She’s sixteen and our time together at home is slipping through the hourglass. We are so far past the halfway point now. The past couple years it’s been tough to be a Thoreson, but somewhere along the way she’s decided to make the best of it. She’s persevered, proving that she’s the same girl who learned to crawl uphill, wearing a stint, dragging an iv in a hospital bed at six months old.
This morning as I consider all this, I came across the scripture my mother prayed over me from birth. I think it’s time to pass the mantle to our dear daughter.
“May our daughters be like graceful pillars, carved to beautify a palace.” (Psalms 144:12 NLT)
Lord, we thank You for the privilege of parenting such a precious soul. We are so in awe of the life You’ve allowed us to steward. Please bless her profoundly; surround her with Your presence and fill her continuously with Your Spirt. May she become a pillar in the palace of Your Kingdom; ornate on the exterior, but granite strength within. Amen.