“I will never give up on you. I will always love you.”
She was thirteen when I spoke those words, and I meant each one.
I knew I wasn’t her favorite person. I didn’t expect much in response, maybe an eye roll or a deep sigh of annoyance.
Instead, her expression softened and her whole body seemed to relax. Exhale. “Okay”. One small word, she said, with hope.
Surprised, I tucked that sacred moment in my heart, asking God for the grace to help me keep that promise. In the midst of a stormy relationship, where I’ve often been at a loss for the right thing to say, God gave me those words, something I would have given anything to hear from my own mom when I was her age,
As a teen, I scared myself. I knew I was hard to love. One of my deepest fears was having my mom give up on me. She never has.
Those were hard years. I didn’t want to repeat them. When I held my baby girl, I dreamt of us being different. We would be like the Gilmore Girls, best friends. We’re not there at the moment. In spite of the best intentions, we haven’t been exempt from some relational trials.
My promise to my daughter has been tested. My memory of that special moment is vivid, several years later.
That little peak into her heart, where I saw that she was scared, just like I was, has held me to my promise and given me a greater understanding of my girl.
By the grace of God, I won’t give up on her. I love her so deeply- there aren’t even words.
My intentions are sincere, but I’m a sinner, still in process of being saved by the only One who really can keep that promise, Jesus.
I may fail, but he won’t. He will never give up on her and He will always love her.
[bctt tweet=”Dear Daughter, I may fail, but Jesus won’t. #lovemom @dawnklinge”]
Yes, I need to reassure my precious daughter of my unconditional love, for her, but more importantly, I need to point her to Jesus, who loves her more deeply than I can even fathom. He is sovereign, wise, and perfect in love. There is no better place to trust than in God.
Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O LORD, you preserve both man and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.” Psalm 36:5 -7 (NIV)
The world is a scary place, and the teen years can be especially rough. Our daughters need to know that they can count on us to never give up on them, to always love them, even when it’s hard. Say it with actions and say it with words. Never stop saying it. They’re listening. Then point your daughters to God, the perfect Father, who will never fail them.
Our daughters need to know that our love is unconditional, and though we’ll try our best, we may fail.
They need to know that when we do, we’ll take our failures to Jesus, who has forgiven us, and has promised to continue the good work that he’s started in us.
They need to know that when they fail, they too, can bring it to Jesus, never in danger of losing his love.
“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 (NIV)
Dawn is a writer living near Seattle with her husband, Derek, and their two kids, Grace and Trent. A gatherer of friends, she enjoys seeing how many people she can host in her tiny home. A church girl her entire life, she’s still trying to figure out what it looks like to put her trust in Jesus, so she’s blogging a book about it on her blog, Above the Waves (www.dawnklinge.com). You can find her on Twitter @dawnklinge and Instagram @dawnmarieklinge.
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Oh my goodness, such wisdom, Thank You. Your words are a confirmation of His in my heart. I tell my girls that nothing will make me ever stop loving and praying for them and I hope they will see that even when it didn’t feel like it I was always on their team.
Your words are a blessing.
♡Dawn
Thank you, Dawn. I’m glad that we don’t have to rely only on ourselves to get that message across to our daughters. I’m so thankful that we can to our heavenly Father for help.
Great post. My tween daughter and I are having some tension and this encouragement came at a great time. Stopping by from #RaRaLinkup.
Katie, thank you! I’m glad that it was an encouragement to you.
I love this! To make sure our daughters know our love is not conditional and in turn, neither is God’s. To make sure they know deep down that we will never give up on them no matter what. Thank you for sharing Dawn!
Thank you, Aimee. Yes, sometimes we think our daughters automatically know about our unconditional love, but really, they need to be told as well as shown.
Dear Dawn,
Not much makes my eyes well with tears.
This did and so, I can offer no better compliment on a written work then that <3
Thank you for sharing your story.
Ren- thank you so much <3
Ahhhhh, yes! I love the admonition to verbalize our love “no matter what” and especially pointing to God who “will never leave us nor forsake us”. Great post!
Thank you Shonya. Yes, I’m glad that we can place our confidence in our God who never fails.
You have caught the Father’s heart as you love your daughter unconditionally. I am so glad He is not afraid of our mistakes, bad attitudes, learning curves. My daughters are grown now. We enjoy the fruit of persevering and never giving up on one another. It is the BEST and so worth it.
Nannette, thank you. It’s so good to hear from moms like you, who can testify to the hard work and the results of such efforts on the other side.
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