To my future daughter,

There is so much that I already wish you knew about the world. But then, there is also so much I hope you never have to learn. I want you to know the happiness and beauty this world has to offer. I want you to be able to watch the sunset and physically feel God's love. I want to see you crawl, and walk, and listen to your first words, proving to me the existence of miracles.

Of course, life isn't always so blissful. In fact, with every great day comes a difficult one as well. I wish I could protect you from the pain that will inevitably find you. Most of the time, you won't even have to go looking for it. That is what scares me the most, knowing that I can only protect you for so long.

I don't know yet what it's like to be a mother, but I do know how it feels to care for someone. To me, love is a constant action in any relationship. Not an emotion. But a choice. A choice we have to make every single day. I imagine motherhood to be quite exhausting in my future, but also fun. I honestly believe that parenting a girl is much more difficult than a boy, for no other reason than the concept of self-worth.

See, the world will try to tell you that you aren't good enough in every way possible. You'll be too smart. Too quiet. Too loud. Too fat. Too skinny. For some people, who you are is never the right version of you. And for women, there are plenty of men who will try to tell you who to be. I know that, even if I fail in every other area of parenthood, I will constantly remind of your worth. Not just as woman and my daughter, but as a child of God.

It will be my goal to make you understand that your life is not based around your ability to make a man happy. I promise there is more to life than finding a husband and starting a family. You are powerful and capable of great things.

You are not a failure because some of your relationships won't work. Some people in this life are only meant to be in your life for a short amount of time. These people are simply meant to teach you a lesson. That doesn't mean you shouldn't love them. I only want you to know that not everyone you expect to stick with you forever will be there long. In fact, most of these people will leave.

But then, one day, you'll find the people who are going to stand by you no matter what. Just know that, even in the midst of all the heartache, I will always be one of these people. I don't promise that I will always have the best advice to give, but I do promise to listen. Sometimes that is what we need the most.

I want you to feel free to be yourself, even when the world tells you that you're wrong. You're not wrong for being who you are. I promise to support you through whatever you decide to do with your time. Every sports game. Every dance recital. Every school play. No matter what the occasion. In the end, I want you to have more self-confidence than I did growing up. It is so hard to build up a self-esteem once it has been injured. Whatever makes you joyful and confident, that is where I want you.

I look forward to, hopefully, one day sitting on the floor coloring with you. Watching Disney movies and singing the songs with you. Teaching you how to ride a bike. How to shoot a basket. How to play the guitar. I'm sorry that I'm not good at doing hair. I'll try to practice before the time comes. And I'm sorry I can't do makeup very well either, but I have many years before I'll worry about that. You should enjoy being young for as long as possible. It all goes by so fast anyhow.

Just know, that even while you are nowhere near existence yet, I am still thinking of you. Praying for you. Until then, the mere thought of you brings me joy.

Love,

Your Mommy