I was 17 when I met the man who would become my husband. Seventeen! Today that seems ridiculously young and yet, somehow, perfect timing. I love the fact that we grew up, in many ways, together. Yes, we had a steep learning curve in having fallen in love before the realities of mortgages and careers set in, but we climbed those hills hand in hand. Not always gracefully, mind you. But as a team, nonetheless.
Which is crazy. Just crazy. Because somehow, here it is 2016, and I have not one, but two daughters older than I was when my foot officially hit the path that led me, well … here.
Babita is now 20. Mary Hannah is 19. And they are lovely. They are lovely, poised, responsible young women listening carefully to their Father in heaven for the sound of His voice. A mother can’t ask for more than that.
Once upon a time, I was truly terrified of having teenagers, let alone young adults. First off, it meant that I would be older, no longer the cute, young mom at the playground with the baby on her hip. Turns out I was wrong. I’m just the slightly grey, old mom at the playground with the baby on her hip… so there’s that. But no matter: what I didn’t know back then was that I could mourn the passing of all these sweet, little kid days forever, and my children would still keep moving forward, in spite of my best efforts to keep them toddlers. And I’d keep pace with them. That’s life.
What I also didn’t know was how truly enjoyable it is to watch your own young adults find their wings. Oh, it’s scary, too. I won’t lie. That path I was talking about? It’s right here. And it either goes very good places or very bad ones, either nearer to God or farther away. So the stakes are high, which is it’s own kind of worry. But listening as they plan? Hearing them pray aloud for the desires of their heart? Being invited in to the places they need your wisdom? It’s breathtaking in its blessing.
It’s hard not to look at these two and remember the person I was. Nineteen and twenty are still somehow so fresh to me. I can still recall how good it felt to fall into bed after two back-to-back 9 hour shifts at two separate jobs, or how my heart clenched in my chest every time Christopher took my hand when we were walking. All of this was only yesterday, wasn’t it? How is it that my girls are there now, at that place where everything came together and I was suddenly hurtling towards adulthood?
I have no idea what these two beautiful young women will encounter in the next ten years. There could be massive hurdles, devastating disappointments, or heartbreaking losses right around the corner. Or there could be tremendous joy, and the kind of opportunities that echo for generations to come. Chances are good it will be a mix of both, for each of them. They will meet people, do things, go places, learn and grow. They will continue on in the business of becoming the women they were designed to be. No matter what it looks like, though, here they sit today: at the starting gate to their futures, poised to do and be great things in the hands of God.