here is my daughter, world. would you like fries with that?!

so i'm having a little trouble fathoming the fact that rylee starts kinder in the fall.  it feels like i am giving her to the world and i don't think i am ready for that!  for the past 5 years of her life the majority of her life has been spent with me.  i filter, teach and influence.  (not that i have done a perfect job by any stretch of the imagination)  she has been in an amazing preschool where she has learned and grown with Christian teachers and influences.  now...it's time to let her go into the world.  will she have a teacher who knows Jesus?  will she make friends with children who have grown up with healthy influences?  have we instilled in her to do the right thing no matter what?  these are the questions spinning in my mind as i come to a place of letting her go into the world where she will be influenced by things beyond my control.  "beyond my control" is a difficult concept for this self proclaimed "control freak" :)  

this is the point where i put my money where my mouth is regarding faith vs. fear.  these are the truths i know:

1.  we have instilled and fostered a knowledge of Jesus Christ and the influence we want Him to have on her little life.

2. we have instilled values, morals and a standard to live by

3. most importantly, she doesn't walk into kindergarten alone

my life verse is proverbs 3:5,6.  trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  in ALL your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. 

so, i trust on the truths that i know:

1.  He has absolutely never failed me

2. He has a plan for rylee's life

3. she will face difficulties and temptations and i won't always be there to help her

4.  her journey is hers....not mine

5.  He will NEVER leave or forsake her

i think #5 is my favorite.  no matter what she will face in her life.  He will never leave her.  i can rest in that.  i will be there for her to help her along her way, but ultimately this is her journey.  i can't  control it and honestly, i wouldn't want to.  the difficulties and struggles we face in our Christian walk mold us into the people that God desires for us to be.  if i protect her from the world i cheapen God's role in her life and ultimately i rob her to know and experience the amazing grace of God.  oh...how i desire more than anything for my children to truly experience God's grace.  i don't want perfect little Christian robots.............i want children who humbly know that we are nothing without His abundant grace.  now.....in order for them to experience that grace....they have to screw up on their journey....probably majorly like most of us......which they most assuredly will :)  

"Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, 

I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see".