Chrysta and Christopher. 

I love the relationship that is developing between these two. She's so different with him than she is with me. She's daddy's little girl.

Already I'm seeing so much of him in her. Her persistence. Her fight. Her sense of humor. Her intelligence. I pray that what is developing between them grows bigger and brighter. Most importantly, I hope there is never a breach in their relationship. 

I know all too well the daddy-daughter breach. I had one with my dad. I wrote about it here.  And while God mended what was broken, I know there was some internal damage I suffered because of it. I never want that for this little girl. 

In her book, After Forever Ends Melodie Ramone wrote “I had a daddy, didn't I? He wasn't perfect and he certainly wasn't the one I'd dreamed he would have been, but I had one all the same. And I'd love him as much as I'd hated him, hadn't I? All that distance, all that time wasted, but the fact that he'd inspired such passion in me meant something in itself. I can honestly say now that I think that's special. Screwed up and turned inside out, we were special him and me, and I am so thankful that I can say that I had a daddy and that he mattered. All his faults and failures mean nothing to me now.” 

I could have written that paragraph. As imperfect as my daddy was, his mess-ups mean nothing now. However, his love meant (and still means) everything to me. Love truly covers a multitude of sins.

Girls need their daddies...and more than most women care to admit. It's from our daddies that we learn how to appreciate our beauty (inside & out) without throwing it in people's faces because beauty has already been affirmed by our daddies. With daddies we learn to navigate the mysterious waters of masculinity. Girls draw conclusions about what men are like from their fathers.  It's with daddies that we learn that self worth comes from being ourselves instead of what we can offer. It's from our daddies that us daughters learn what protection looks and feels like.    

My husband is by no means a perfect man. But I know that his love for our daughter will always be perfect and I pray that she knows this...and learns to rest in this truth.

"So fathers, be good to your daughters

Daughters will love like you do."

-from John Mayer's song "Daughters"