Navigating Girl World...
Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.[b] " -Romans 12:3 (NLT)
Brace yourself... I’m about to rant…
My heart has been heavy for my daughter… so heavy that I’ve considered quitting my job so I can be more accessible to her as she begins to precariously navigate her tweens. You see she is 11. As I look around the world she is growing up in I am growing increasingly concerned. Her culture is encouraging her to grow up quickly… clothing stores make shorts shorter & shirts smaller, all types of media tell her that she needs to be thin & tall, have silky hair & clear skin. She is bombarded by images that scream at her to conform to what is in fashion at the moment. All this to be popular with her peers & attract the attention of prepubescent boys? Did I mention, she is 11.
As she approaches ‘middle school age’ I’m also becoming more aware of how the culture of her peers becoming increasingly hostile. No longer does she concern herself most with playing four square at recess… there are cliques in her world now… where the ‘populars’, can on a whim banish whomever they deem unfit to be part of their group.
For the rest of the month, I am going to be focusing on how to best counteract the new girl world… I am going to be brutally honest about what I am seeing & how I am struggling to find ways to encourage my daughter to rise above all the nonsense. It is my desire that she will have enough courage not to get sucked into the drama of middle school & that she will not lose sight of who God has created her to be… It is my prayer that I will be able to encourage her to forgive those that hurt her, that she be less concerned about being popular & more concerned about being compassionate & that she develop a heart of love for those who need a friend.
“What is right is not always popular and what is popular is not always right.” -Albert Einstein
If you want to follow my adventure into Girl World this month, stop by my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LisaMillerPelkey
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