There is an undeniable force that comes from praying parents.
I received a text in June from one of my daughter’s best friends. She wanted to know what I thought about her planning a surprise birthday party for my daughter at the end of July. I asked her what she had in mind. She said something simple, so I told her I thought it was a great idea. She was thrilled.
Let me give you a little background here. When we moved into our neighborhood, my daughter was in kindergarten. My son had a friend down the street. I prayed for years that a family with good strong values would move in with a daughter her age and that they would grow a strong friendship.
In fourth grade, that prayer was answered. My daughter and April became the best of friends.
One of my strongest prayers for both of my children has been that they will build strong, solid friendships. I think friendship is such a blessing. I stumbled upon a photo of my senior prom the other day of me and my four best friends from high school. It still warms my heart. I still love those girls.
My daughter and April have four other friends that they hang out with most of the time. Two of them went on a mission trip this summer with my daughter. All of them go to church. They are good for each other and good to each other. They have their ups and downs the way teen girls will, but they are never mean-spirited or disrespectful to one another.
So, yesterday, April asked my daughter if she could stop by her house because she wanted to give her something for her birthday. Our family stopped and made an excuse to go in with her. Her five best friends jumped out and said, “surprise!” My daughter was floored. She had no idea.
They all spent the night at our house. I have always made them welcome here. I think having a chance to hang out as a group helps to grow friendship. My mom felt the same way, so much so, that she put in a swimming pool. They stayed up half of the night talking and giggling like teenagers do.
When everyone was gone, my daughter and I had a chance to talk about it all. At first she felt overwhelmed by the gesture. But, then it dawned on her how blessed she is to have friends who love her and how blessed she is to have found these girls.
She’s learning the beauty of community. One of the girls broke up with her long time boyfriend this summer. The others rallied around her. One of the girls got a boyfriend for the first time. They have listened to her talk endlessly about him. They have supported each other. They are growing up.
As a mother, this is a powerful force to behold, this blooming friendship between these girls. I pray that God will continue to bless them and grow them to serve Him. Watching them together makes me give thanks for the beautiful friendships that I have been blessed with and I am reminded of the power of praying parents.
God is always listening. We need to make sure that we are talking.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂