Before Bailey was born, we bought her a pink bible engraved with her name; the thin pages ready to be worn thinner by tiny hands, words ready to be absorbed and cherished, and time together as a family talking about what is in between those soft covers.
I have been searching for a verse that I especially want to direct Bailey to and I have found the one that I want to dedicate to her.
Often we tell her how beautiful she is. We have also been telling her how smart, funny, kind, generous, forgiving, loving, and loved she is. {My Dad likes to tell her that she likes math...I sure hope she does, because then she can teach it to me!}.
I keep going back to the word kind. I have no doubt that she will know how loved she is; we will think that she is smart, no matter if she struggles with some subjects or excels at everything; with a Dad like hers, there is no doubt that she is going to be funny; and we will do our best to teach her to be generous.
I think that one of the most important things is for her to learn kindness ~ to be kind others and to herself. Oftentimes I see people who are mean, unhappy, and selfish. I think many of those things could be changed if they had a little more kindness in their life.
The verse we have chosen for Bailey is:
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
In kindness there is forgiveness, there is compassion, there is love, there is hope.
I want Bailey to know that kindness matters, that to be a kind person is something to be revered and welcomed, to view the world as a beautiful place that she can make better by her kindness.
It's my job as her Mom to teach her many things and I really hope that I am the example of kindness that she will want to emulate.
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